Prosecutors Drop Rape Charges Against a St. Cloud Man

ST. CLOUD -- Stearns County prosecutors have dropped rape charges against a St. Cloud man accused of sexually assaulting a woman after she asked him for a ride to the store.

A trial was scheduled to start Monday against 33-year-old Abdirashid Yusuf. Yusuf was charged with 1st-degree criminal sexual conduct for the alleged incident in November.

A woman told police she knew Yusuf for about three weeks and asked him for a ride to the store because she did not have a license. The victim said when Yusuf came to her apartment he began flirting with her, and at one point, tried to kiss her. When she asked Yusuf to leave, she said he forced her to the ground and raped her.

The Stearns County Attorney's Office says they dismissed the charges after receiving additional evidence Friday that no longer made the charges provable beyond a reasonable doubt.