WARNING: This report contains graphic details that may be upsetting to some
A north Minneapolis man is accused of strangling and threatening to stab a 14-year-old girl and punching her in the face several times before sexually assaulting her in April, according to a Hennepin County criminal complaint.
The incident reportedly happened after 8 p.m. on April 21, 2019, after the victim said she was picked up at a friend’s house in south Minneapolis by a male she met online and another individual who was driving the vehicle.
The man, later identified as Abdifetah Ali Kalif, 18, climbed into the back seat after the vehicle drove away and began pulling away the clothing of the girl who said that Kalif grabbed her by the throat and pulled out a knife and threatened to stab her. The girl said she became afraid and thought she was going to die so she stopped fighting back. The girl said that when Kalif was not able to achieve sexual penetration he became angry and punched her several times in the face and then forced her to perform oral sex on him. She said that they drove in the area of northeast Minneapolis before the driver brought her back to her friend’s apartment, the complaint said.
The victim’s friend and the friend’s mother both observed the girl’s head and face injuries when she was dropped off back at their home around 10 p.m., and the girl told them she’d been sexually assaulted. The complaint stated that the girl and her parent reported the sexual assault to police two days later, at which time the victim was observed to have bruising and swelling on her face and eyes. DNA swabs were obtained from the victim and a subsequent medical report confirmed that the victim had a bone fracture to her eye socket.
The complaint further stated that the girl gave police her attacker’s Snapchat handle and said that he was a student at South High School. Kalif was subsequently identified by name when police showed a Snapchat profile picture the victim had identified as her attacker to a South High School resource officer who confirmed his identity. Kalif was also positively identified in a photo by the victim’s friend.
Kalif was arrested on June 25 and in a post-Miranda statement to law enforcement admitted that he’d picked up the victim and that he hit her because she “wasted his time and lied to him,” the complaint said. Kalif acknowledged that the victim tried to get out of the car, so he locked the doors and hit her. Police showed Kalif a picture of the girl with the injures she reported from the assault, and he acknowledged that she was the girl he hit but denied causing her injuries. Kalif also stated that he did not initially meet the girl to have sex, but that he did tell her to give him oral sex, and that after he “smacked” her and she complied.
Kalif was formally charged the next day with one count of felony first-degree criminal sexual conduct involving penetration and injury under use of force or coercion and was held on $500,000 bail without conditions or $100,000 with conditions. The maximum penalty listed on the complaint is 30 years in prison and/or a $40,000 fine.
Court records show that Kalif posted a non-cash bond after his initial court appearance and that he has made several requests for a [language] interpreter prior to subsequent court hearings in the case.
Kalif, who’s address is listed in the complaint as a Minneapolis Public Housing Authority (MPHA) residence on the 1500 block of Girard Avenue North, had a motion hearing last week and was again ordered conditionally released by Judge Nicole A. Engisch. Kalif is not currently listed in custody in Hennepin County and is scheduled to appear at another motion hearing on Oct. 15.
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Minnesota Crime Watch & Information offers citizen-powered 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.
