Third Man Charged In October Sexual Assault At St. Cloud Park

ST. CLOUD -- A third man has been charged in connection to a sexual assault of a woman at a St. Cloud Park in October.

Twenty-two-year-old Mohamed Hassan Abdi has been charged with 1st Degree criminal sexual conduct and aiding and abetting criminal sexual conduct.

Twenty-four-year-old Sahal Abdi Hassan and 21-year-old Abdirahin Omar Ali are also each charged with 1st-degree criminal sexual conduct and aiding and abetting 1st-degree criminal sexual conduct.

St. Cloud Police were called on a report of a sexual assault that occurred in the early morning hours of October 18th. The woman said she had been drinking at a downtown St. Cloud bar and left through the front door.

Court records show the next thing she remembered was being in a car with five Somali men who were talking in their native language, drinking liquor, trying to kiss her, and threatening her. The woman said they stopped at a park and a man later identified as Hassan brought her to a slide and raped her as the other men cheered him on.

The woman said she was brought back to the car and forced to perform oral sex on a man later identified as Ali. The victim was then dropped off at a location and sought help from a homeowner in the area and was brought to the hospital for a rape examination.

Police say surveillance footage from the bar helped identify the vehicle and traced it to surveillance footage at a nearby gas station. All three men were seen entering the gas station at multiple time throughout the night, matching the timeframe of the assault.

Court records show the victims pants were ripped, her underwear was partially off and wood chips from the park fell out of her pants. DNA testing through the exam determined profiles matching Hassan and Ali.

Records show authorities also got a warrant to collect DNA from Abdi, which confirmed his DNA could not be excluded from a mixture of sperm cell fractions.

All three men are currently in the Stearns County Jail.