Charges: Stranger raped woman walking home alone in Minneapolis

File photo.

A Minneapolis man has been charged with four counts of criminal sexual conduct after someone found the victim’s driver’s license in the man’s room more than a year later and reported it to police.

The alleged rape took place on August 30, 2015. Minneapolis police were dispatched to the 2500 block of Aldrich Avenue S. at about 1:45 a.m. on a report of criminal sexual conduct in progress. When they arrived, the 26-year-old victim walked toward the officers and “was crying hysterically and visibly upset,” according to the complaint.

Officers found a pair of women’s shoes and a pair of women’s underwear on the grass, and the contents of the victim’s purse were scattered on the sidewalk.

The victim was taken to Hennepin County Medical Center where she underwent a sexual assault exam.

The nurse noted abrasions, redness on her neck and several bruises. According to the complaint, a DNA swab of the victim’s vagina was sent to the Bureau of Criminal Apprehension for analysis, and it revealed the presence of semen.

A witness told police that he was home in the apartment building when he heard a woman outside screaming for help. He ran outside to the driveway where he found the victim lying on the ground, with a man standing near her. According to the complaint, he asked the man if they needed help, and he replied, “It’s all good.”

The witness then saw the man walk away.

Another witness told police she heard a woman screaming for help, so she ran outside of her house and saw the victim lying on the grass near her driveway. The victim was naked from the waist down and was screaming that she was just raped.

During the investigation, police discovered that the victim was with friends earlier that night at Crave restaurant in downtown Minneapolis. According to the complaint, the victim decided to leave the restaurant and told her friends she was going to take a cab home. Instead, she decided to walk home alone.

The victim recalled that she was walking on Aldrich Avenue around 26th and 27th Streets when she was “grabbed by her neck from behind.”

The victim was then pulled into a grassy area between houses, where she struggled against her attacker.

According to the complaint, the suspect used the weight of his body to push her down. He also put pressure on her neck, making it difficult for her to breathe, and yelled for her to “shut up.”

She also recalled gasping for air as she tried to pull the suspect’s hands off her throat and said she thought she was going to die. Then, she passed out.

When the victim woke up, police officers were at the scene, and she was unable to identify her attacker.

The victim’s purse containing her wallet, driver’s license, keys and credit cards were taken during the assault.

On Nov. 5, 2016, the victim contacted Minneapolis police to report that someone contacted her on Facebook and told her he had her driver’s license and keys.

According to the complaint, police learned that the witness let a room to Mika Dalbec, 20, until Dalbec was arrested and taken to the Minnesota Correctional Facility in Rush City, where he is currently serving a sentence for aggravated robbery.

While cleaning out the Dalbec’s bedroom, he found the victim’s driver’s license and keys, and turned them over to St. Paul police.

On Nov. 30, Minneapolis sex crimes investigator Eric Faulconer travelled to the correctional facility to interview the Dalbec. Dalbec initially denied possessing the victim’s driver’s license and guessed that she left it in his room. He also denied taking the victim’s items and sexually assaulting her.

A search warrant was then issued, and a DNA sample was taken from Dalbec.

On Jan. 11, the BCA reported that Dalbec’s DNA matches the DNA found in the victim’s vagina the night of the assault.