A Minneapolis man twice convicted of rape is in custody and facing ten felony charges in two new cases, including attempted rape, sexual assault, kidnapping and assault.
Christopher Don Boswell was convicted in two separate rape cases in 2000, which involved female victims aged 17 to adult, and he used force and threats to gain compliance. One case involved a female that Boswell knew, the other involved a female unknown to him, according to a previously released sex offender notification document.
Another court document details one of the cases that took place in June 1999. In that case, Boswell hit the victim in the head several times before sexually assaulting her and then threatened to kill her if she went to police. Boswell then pushed the victim, who was unclothed from the waist down, out of the vehicle and then attempted to run her over as she fled.
The document states that the victim had walked 12 blocks when police on routine patrol found her still unclothed and without shoes and screaming hysterically with a swollen cheek and split lip.
Boswell was convicted by a jury in that case in April 2000 on two counts of first-degree criminal sexual conduct and one count of kidnapping and was sentenced to 58 months and 122 months to be served consecutively. Court records indicate that Boswell subsequently appealed part of his conviction and received a two-year reduction on his sentence.
Two months later, in June 2000, Boswell was sentenced in another rape case that had taken place in May 1999, less than two weeks prior to the other case. In the second case, Boswell pleaded guilty to one count of first-degree criminal sexual conduct and two other counts on the same charge were dismissed at sentencing. Boswell was ordered to serve 134 months in prison concurrent with the previous rape conviction.
Boswell has since been convicted twice for failing to register as a predatory offender, most recently in April 2019. Under the terms of a plea agreement in that case, Boswell was sentenced to a year in prison but was granted a durational departure and released from custody with credit for 207 days already served.
Although Boswell has been reported to be a Level 3 sex offender and was required to register as a predatory offender, his information cannot be found listed on the public portion of the state sex offender database.
NEW CHARGES
Boswell, 37, was charged in February in two separate cases in Hennepin County with a total of ten felony counts.
Charging documents in the first case state that on Jan. 18, 2020, Minneapolis police responded to a residence on James Avenue North on a report of an assault. When they arrived, they found a naked female wrapped in a blanket on the front porch. The victim was crying and upset, and police observed numerous cuts and bruises on her body.
The victim told police that her ex-boyfriend, whom she identified as Boswell, had kidnapped and assaulted her. The victim told police she hadn’t seen Boswell in a year-and-a-half prior to the assault.
The victim stated that Boswell pulled up in a vehicle as she was leaving a store on Penn Avenue North. He pointed gun at her and told her to get in the van and that he would shoot her if she tried to run.
Once inside the van, Boswell began driving and asked the victim why she left him and said that he wanted her to get back with him. When she refused, Boswell stopped the van and punched her several times in the face and knocked out one of her teeth. She said Boswell then got on top of her and punched her several more times before choking her and biting her face. Boswell then dragged the victim by the hair into the back seat and threatened her with the gun and told her to remove her clothes, and she complied.
Boswell continued to threaten the victim and told her, “today is your last day.” Boswell proceeded to strike the victim in the back of the head with a glass bottle, breaking it. Boswell dragged the victim back into the front seat and started driving again. At one point the victim was able to open the door to jump out. Boswell grabbed her by the neck to prevent her escape, but she was able to jump out of the moving van. The victim saw a bystander and screamed for help and Boswell drove away.
The victim sustained several injuries including cuts and bruises to her face, head, legs and body as well as a nasal fracture. The victim told police she thought she was going to die in the van.
Boswell was taken into custody on Jan. 31 and was charged on Feb. 3 with four felony counts including kidnapping, attempted first-degree sexual conduct, second-degree criminal sexual conduct while armed with a dangerous weapon and third-degree assault.
Boswell made his first court appearance on the charges on Feb. 4 and was granted a public defender and was held on $250,000 bail.
While in custody, Boswell was charged in another case stemming from a 2018 incident. The complaint in that case states that on June 1, 2018, Minneapolis police met with a female who stated that her ex-boyfriend, whom she identified as Boswell, had assaulted her the previous day.
The complaint states that the victim told police she walked with a friend (Victim 2) to a prior residence to check for mail. Once outside, Boswell approached and pointed a gun at her and threatened to kill her. Boswell took the friend’s cell phone and then ordered the two into his vehicle at gunpoint.
Boswell then drove to his sister’s house and parked the vehicle in back where it couldn’t be seen. He held the two at gunpoint for several hours while he questioned Victim 1 who she’d been sleeping with.
Boswell threatened to kill Victim 2 and Victim 2’s family. Boswell became extremely angry and began pistol-whipping Victim 1, striking her in the face with the handgun several times. Boswell bit Victim 1, headbutted her, choked her and told her she was “going to die” that night.
Boswell eventually began driving around again and stopped at a location in south Minneapolis. He told Victim 1 to get out of the vehicle and get on her knees where he proceeded to kick her in the face. Victim 1 fell to the ground and Boswell continued to kick her repeatedly. Boswell told Victim 1 to face the wall and put her hands behind her head and he said he was going to count to three. Victim 1 told police that she thought she was going to executed. Boswell then shot the gun into the air. Boswell then drove the two to Victim 2’s relative’s house.
Upon interviewing Victim 1, police observed that she had several injuries to her face and body and that her eyes were nearly swollen shut. A subsequent medical examination determined that the victim had a nasal fracture, a ruptured eardrum and significant bruising to her face, head and body.
The complaint does not detail why charges in the second case weren’t filed until Feb. 28, 2020, instead of at the time of the police report in 2018. Boswell has been charged with six felony counts in the case including two counts of kidnapping, second- and third-degree assault, and two counts of threats of violence.
Boswell, whose most recent address on jail booking records is listed as a homeless shelter on Currie Avenue in downtown Minneapolis, remains in custody with a bail amount of $100,000 in the second case.
The complaints state that the maximum sentences Boswell could face if convicted on the charges range from up to 5 years on the threats charges and up to 40 years on the most serious kidnapping charges. Boswell is scheduled to make his next court appearances in both cases on April 28.
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Minnesota Crime Watch & Information publishes news, info and commentary about crime, public safety and livability issues in Minneapolis, the Twin Cities and greater Minnesota.
Crime Watch MN
Minnesota Crime Watch & Information publishes news, info and commentary about crime, public safety and livability issues in Minneapolis, the Twin Cities and Greater Minnesota.
