Refugee
08-25-2007, 06:05 PM
A MAN has been charged with raping and beating a woman in the hallway of an apartment block - an attack apparently witnessed by about 10 people who did nothing.
Rage Ibrahim, 25, was charged on Thursday with several counts of first-degree criminal sexual conduct over the assault in St Paul on Tuesday.
Police say they responded to a call about drunken behaviour in the hallway, where they found Ibrahim and a woman lying unconscious. The woman's clothing had been pulled up and she had fresh scratches on her face and blood on her thigh.
Ibrahim says he is innocent and the incident was a misunderstanding, said Omar Jamal, the executive director of the Somali Justice Advocacy Centre, who spoke on his behalf.
Police obtained surveillance video from the hallway, which showed the assault starting as early as 1.20am. Police were not called to the scene until almost 90 minutes later, when someone finally called to report drunken behaviour in the hallway.
A police spokesman said the video footage clearly showed five to 10 people, men and women, looking out their apartment doors or starting to walk down the hallway before retreating as the assault occurred.
"It shows one person looking out of her door probably three times," the spokesman said. "It shows another person walking up, observing what's going on, then turning and putting up the hood of his sweatshirt."
The 26-year-old victim knocked on a door at one point, yelling for the occupants to call police. A man inside that apartment told police he did not open the door or look out, but said he did call police - although they have no record of his call.
The complaint said the video shows Ibrahim hitting the woman several times before sexually assaulting her. It said the woman was visiting a friend's unit, where she met Ibrahim; she told police that after drinking for several hours he tried to stop her from leaving, and began to assault her.
Ibrahim denied trying to rape her, telling police that if he wanted to do so he would have done it in the apartment. He said they were struggling over car keys.
The spokesman said police were upset by bystanders' behaviour. "It's not what we expect of responsible citizens," he said.
Minnesota has a Good Samaritan law that makes it a petty misdemeanour not to give reasonable help to a person in danger of "grave physical harm".
The police spokesman said it was unlikely police would pursue charges against witnesses in this case because the burden of proof was so high - authorities would have to show that witnesses knew the woman was in grave danger.
Rage Ibrahim, 25, was charged on Thursday with several counts of first-degree criminal sexual conduct over the assault in St Paul on Tuesday.
Police say they responded to a call about drunken behaviour in the hallway, where they found Ibrahim and a woman lying unconscious. The woman's clothing had been pulled up and she had fresh scratches on her face and blood on her thigh.
Ibrahim says he is innocent and the incident was a misunderstanding, said Omar Jamal, the executive director of the Somali Justice Advocacy Centre, who spoke on his behalf.
Police obtained surveillance video from the hallway, which showed the assault starting as early as 1.20am. Police were not called to the scene until almost 90 minutes later, when someone finally called to report drunken behaviour in the hallway.
A police spokesman said the video footage clearly showed five to 10 people, men and women, looking out their apartment doors or starting to walk down the hallway before retreating as the assault occurred.
"It shows one person looking out of her door probably three times," the spokesman said. "It shows another person walking up, observing what's going on, then turning and putting up the hood of his sweatshirt."
The 26-year-old victim knocked on a door at one point, yelling for the occupants to call police. A man inside that apartment told police he did not open the door or look out, but said he did call police - although they have no record of his call.
The complaint said the video shows Ibrahim hitting the woman several times before sexually assaulting her. It said the woman was visiting a friend's unit, where she met Ibrahim; she told police that after drinking for several hours he tried to stop her from leaving, and began to assault her.
Ibrahim denied trying to rape her, telling police that if he wanted to do so he would have done it in the apartment. He said they were struggling over car keys.
The spokesman said police were upset by bystanders' behaviour. "It's not what we expect of responsible citizens," he said.
Minnesota has a Good Samaritan law that makes it a petty misdemeanour not to give reasonable help to a person in danger of "grave physical harm".
The police spokesman said it was unlikely police would pursue charges against witnesses in this case because the burden of proof was so high - authorities would have to show that witnesses knew the woman was in grave danger.