ARTICLE AD BOX
A man charged in connection with a string of sexual assaults allegedly smeared feces on the walls of his jail cell while resisting officers’ attempts to transport him across the street for his initial court appearance on Tuesday.
During the brief hearing, Assistant U.S. Attorney Kristian Weir said that Abdimahat Bille Mohamed “strongly resisted” when Hennepin County Jail staff tried to remove him from his cell ahead of his initial appearance in Minneapolis federal court.
Prosecutors on Thursday charged Mohamed, 28, with kidnapping a 15-year-old girl in 2017 and an adult woman in September. The federal criminal complaint links Mohamed to three other sexual assaults.
Mohamed pleaded guilty in April to state charges of criminal sexual conduct for the rape of the child victim and the sexual assault of another woman in 2024, but he avoided prison as part of a plea deal with the Hennepin County Attorney’s Office. County prosecutors also pledged not to prosecute him for a 2018 rape in which he was suspected.
Mohamed drew the attention of the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Minneapolis after Hennepin County prosecutors charged him on Dec. 1 in connection with the September attack, which he allegedly committed while on probation.
While making his initial appearance on Tuesday, Mohamed appeared confused when Magistrate Judge David Schultz asked the defendant if he understood the charges against him.
“At first I didn’t know the reason I was arrested, because I was kidnapped,” Mohamed said through a Somali language interpreter.
“Do you have a basic understanding of what they say you did?” defense attorney Kate Adams asked her client after speaking privately for several minutes with him and interpreter Ayderus Ali.
“You cannot lift the earth to the sky. They just made it up,” Mohamed replied.
“I’m persuaded that Mr. Mohamed understands the nature of the allegation, but he clearly disagrees with it,” Schultz said, before granting Mohamed a public defender and ordering him detained.
Schultz scheduled a second hearing in the case for Friday. Mohamed has yet to enter a plea.
Mohamed is not a U.S. citizen but is living in the country as a legal permanent resident. Federal authorities have the option of revoking Mohamed’s green card because of his state-level felony convictions, but the government has not indicated if they plan to deport him.
Federal prosecutors said that Mohamed faces a mandatory minimum of 20 years and up to life in prison if convicted of the kidnapping charges.
A 24-hour statewide sexual violence and domestic violence hotline is available in Minnesota. You can call Minnesota Day One at (866) 223-1111 or text (612) 399-9995.
English (US) ·