A 34-year-old man who is reportedly a Muslim refugee has been charged with raping a 10-year-old girl in an apartment complex in Cedar-Riverside in Minneapolis.
Authorities identified the suspect as Ahmed Hersi Abdi, who has a history of mental illness, according to CBS Minnesota.
Abdi allegedly assaulted the girl on Oct. 4 in a hallway. The child said a man followed her into the elevator and they got off on the third floor.
The man refused to let go of her hand when she shook it, and he then reportedly raped the girl.
According to witnesses, they heard screaming and saw the girl crying and called the police. The victim was sent to Hennepin County Medical Center for treatment.
Abdi was later arrested in St. Paul.
Susan Welshinger, who lives nearby, said the incident is disturbing as she herself was sexually assaulted in her teens.
"I'm sure it will have an effect on her, like I have had to go through therapy. And I still am, because I want nothing to do with men," Welshinger said.
Minneapolis Police Department's John Elder said officers easily identified the suspect based on the surveillance video.
"That is because of the amount of time that these officers have spent in that community both on and working off-duty, and a lot of community policing efforts," Elder said.
Abdi was convicted of trespassing in 2003, disorderly conduct in 2003 and public urination in 2012.
Other charges against him were dismissed. In 2011 assault and disorderly conduct charges were dismissed after he was found incompetent to stand trial.
His mental illness was also the cause of the dismissal of an assault charge in 2010.
Also dismissed were a 2002 assault charge and 2014 lurking charge against him.
For the rape, Abdi was charged with two counts of first-degree criminal sexual conduct and faces up to 30 years in prison and up to $40,000 in fines if he is convicted.
