ST PAUL, Minn — Editor's note: The video above was an update of the case, posted in May of 2021.
St. Paul Police say a DNA sample has led to the arrest of the man responsible for a violent 2016 attack on a 5-year-old girl as she waited for her school bus.
The 19-year-old suspect was located and arrested in Cahokia Heights, Illinois on Monday without incident by local sheriff's deputies and agents from the U.S. Marshals Service and FBI.
Saint Paul police investigators then traveled to St. Clair County on Thursday, where they interviewed the suspect and collected DNA. During the interview, the suspect, 13 at the time of the incident, reportedly confessed to sexually assaulting the girl.
It was just after 8 a.m. on Monday, May 2, 2016, when squads were dispatched to the intersection of Cook Avenue and Park Street after a school bus driver reported finding a child semi-clothed hiding behind a tree, bloodied and crying. The young victim was taken to a hospital, where an exam revealed she had been sexually assaulted.
Sex crimes investigators from both local and federal agencies worked around the clock to find the person responsible, but the case slowly lost steam. Finally, in early December of 2021, agents from the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension notified St. Paul Police that a DNA match had been made with evidence found at the crime scene.
"This case is an example of why we never give up or stop working on behalf of victims,” said Saint Paul Police Chief Todd Axtell. “I am beyond grateful for the exhaustive investigative work by dozens and dozens of dedicated law enforcement professionals who kept working and working and working."
"They poured their hearts and souls into the case," Axtell continued, "carried its weight in their minds, on their backs and in their hearts for 2,166 days — and persevered. Hopefully, justice can be served, and this can be another step towards healing for the little girl and her family.”
On Friday, the Ramsey County Attorney's Office said a delinquency petition has been filed against the suspect charging him with both sexual assault and kidnapping. Minnesota law says because he was 13 at the time of the alleged crime, the county attorney cannot attempt to certify him to stand trial as an adult.
By filing a delinquency petition, however, the court can order a lifetime registration of the suspect as a sex offender if he is found guilty in juvenile court.
Police say the suspect is currently being held in the St. Clair County jail, awaiting extradition back to Minnesota.
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