Charges: Serial rapist attacked dozens, recorded assault on victims' cellphones

MINNEAPOLIS (FOX 9) - An alleged serial rapist already charged in attacks in Minneapolis has been charged with additional assaults, officials announced Tuesday.

Between November 2018 and March 2019, Kenyatta Buckles, 24, reportedly robbed, assaulted and raped or attempted to rape women, many of whom he arranged to meet online. He faces several charges including first-degree criminal sexual conduct, assault and robbery.

In November 2018, Minneapolis police received a walk-in report from a woman who said someone tried to sexually assault her several days ago. The victim reported that she works as an escort and posted an ad online. A man replied to her ad and arranged to meet her outside his apartment building on 3rd Avenue South in Minneapolis.

According to the charges, a man later identified as Buckles brought the woman to a bedroom in a vacant apartment, took out a knife, and reportedly told her, "shut the f*** up b**** or I'll kill you." The woman began to fight back and ran from the apartment building screaming. She was able to escape, and he began texting her threats.

The victim later posted online about her encounter. She reportedly got responses from 12 different women who said they had similar experiences in the same area with a man who fit the description.

Throughout the investigation, officers connected Buckles to several similar crimes including sexual assaults, kidnappings and robberies.

Officers arrested Buckles in March 2019 in connection with other cases and recovered several cell phones. Police later learned of two instances in which Buckles used the victims' cell phones to record the assaults.

In one of the assaults, Buckles left his hat in a victim's car. DNA testing from the hat matched his profile in the police database.