DNA swab leads to charges in 2017 kidnapping, rape in Minneapolis

A man who is set to face trial this month on sexual assault charges is now being charged in connection with a separate rape that happened in 2017 after a DNA swab came up as a match in that case.

Abdihamat Bille Mohamed, 27, of Minneapolis, is facing charges of first- and second-degree criminal sexual conduct and kidnapping in connection with the assault that happened on Dec. 12, 2017, in Minneapolis.

According to a criminal complaint, the victim, a 15-year-old girl, messaged a person she knew as “Altesto” — later identified as Mohamed — on Snapchat requesting a ride in exchange for payment. Mohamed picked her up in St. Paul, and instead of taking her to her destination, he parked near the intersection of 32nd Street East and Minnehaha Avenue to “get something from his place.”

The victim told investigators she felt uncomfortable during the ride and asked to get out, but the child door locks were activated. When Mohamed parked, two other men got in the vehicle, one of whom pointed a gun at the victim’s head and instructed her to perform a sex act on the suspect “or I’ll blow your head off,” the complaint states.

Charging documents allege Mohamed raped the victim in the backseat and then got back into the driver’s seat and dropped the victim off at a TCF Bank on Lake Street. The victim called police and was taken to Hennepin County Medical Center for a sexual assault examination.

In September, the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension issued a report stating that the DNA profile from the victim’s swabs matched with a buccal swab taken from Mohamed in connection with a separate sexual assault that happened on May 30.

In the 2024 case, Mohamed allegedly brought two sisters up to his apartment in Minneapolis and threatened to shoot them if they didn’t have sex with him. The victim told first responders that Mohamed had raped and strangled her.

Mohamed faces charges of first- and third-degree criminal sexual conduct in the 2024 case, which is set to head to trial on Oct. 21. Prosecutors also charged him with two counts of fourth-degree assault on a peace officer because he allegedly spat on police officers while being taken into custody.

Mohamed remains in custody in the Hennepin County Jail.