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Convicted Minneapolis rapist sentenced after rape kit went untested for a decade

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Convicted Minneapolis rapist sentenced after rape kit went untested for a decade


It took a pair of rape victims greater than a dozen years to get justice for a 2010 gunpoint assault. On Monday, their assailant, James Works was sentenced to greater than 32 years in jail. The case took so lengthy to prosecute as a result of important DNA proof sat untested for years.

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“I can simply let that on this case, , justice was delayed, however it wasn’t denied,” Hennepin County District Courtroom Decide William Koch advised Works throughout sentencing. “Justice arrived, simply late, however it did arrive.”

The Hennepin County Legal professional’s workplace experiences the case towards Works is the primary one to web a conviction in a joint effort to check beforehand untested sexual assault kits collected by the Minneapolis Police Division.

There have been a few causes these rape kits went untested, the victims advised FOX 9 they had been younger, troubled and scared, and had used faux names with investigators once they first reported the assault, explaining they didn’t wish to be arrested themselves. However they by no means stopped hoping today would come. And so they had been within the courtroom to confront the person who damage them so horrifically.

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“13 years in the past, he took a chunk of me that I felt like I might by no means get again,” Sufferer #1 advised the courtroom throughout her emotional influence assertion.

Separately, the 2 victims stepped in entrance of Decide Koch, simply toes from their attacker, and shared years of ache and trauma over what occurred that June night time, 2010.

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They requested FOX 9 to not present their faces on digicam however insisted their phrases be heard far past the courtroom partitions.

Sufferer #2 stated, “I used to be disrespected, dehumanized, belittled… stripped of my dignity and vanity.”

Proof would present the ladies had been held at gunpoint and raped by Works. However proof collected by investigators on the time went untested for greater than a decade.

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Lastly, in 2021, as a part of the joint Minneapolis Sexual Assault Package Initiative, the Bureau of Felony Apprehension ran DNA assessments that hit on Works, who had emerged as a possible suspect in different assaults on space girls via the years. A jury discovered Works responsible at trial in late March. Decide Koch handed him a 390-month sentence or 32-and-a-half years for rape and kidnapping.

This particular person sexually assaulted two folks over ten years in the past,” Hennepin County Legal professional Mary Moriarty advised FOX 9’s Paul Blume after the listening to. “He’s a hazard to the neighborhood.

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Moriarty stated her workplace is targeted on getting justice in intercourse assault instances, describing a multi-faceted effort together with continued forensic testing of rape kits which will stay on proof cabinets, embedding a prosecutor inside MPD’s Intercourse Crimes Unit, and prioritizing sufferer advocacy to assist information people via the prison justice system as soon as they file a report.

“We all know the preliminary response and what occurs proper after that’s actually important with gathering the kinds of proof that we must be profitable in these sorts of prosecutions. So that could be a precedence of mine,” defined Moriarty.

“Whatever the scenario of the way it turned out proper now, I settle for the implications,” stated Works, who tried to reduce his conduct when given the chance to handle the courtroom.

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However it’s his victim-survivors who vowed to have the final phrase.

“I simply needed to let him know that he won’t decide the place my life ends. And he won’t. I can’t dwell in worry anymore due to his actions,” concluded Sufferer #1.

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Given state sentencing pointers, on the very least, Works will spend almost 22 years behind bars, that means he can be in his 70s when he’s launched. At which level, Works can be required to register as a predatory offender for the remainder of his life.

The BCA reported Monday that there are nonetheless 621 untested sexual assault kits ready to be examined statewide. The typical turnaround time for testing proper now could be 124 days.



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Minneapolis, MN

3 people shot in Dinkytown early Friday morning

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3 people shot in Dinkytown early Friday morning


Authorities are investigating a Dinkytown shooting that left three people injured early Friday morning.

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What we know

A SAFE-U Emergency Alert states that three people were shot at the intersection of 4th Street Southeast and 13th Avenue Southeast around 2:15 a.m.  

This area is in the heart of Dinkytown, just over half a mile west of Mariucci Arena and Huntington Bank Stadium in Minneapolis.

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The shooting happened off of the University of Minnesota campus. 

What we don’t know

Police have not released information on whether any U of M students were involved. 

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No suspect information is currently available. 



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Minneapolis, MN

Xcel faces challenges with old utility poles

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Xcel faces challenges with old utility poles


More than two thirds of the utility poles throughout Minnesota are at least a half-century old and records show their failure rate dramatically increases with age, a problem exacerbated by climate change, experts said.



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Minneapolis, MN

City Council calls for audit of MPD response to neighbor dispute that led to shooting

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City Council calls for audit of MPD response to neighbor dispute that led to shooting


A group of Minneapolis city leaders are calling for an independent review of a recent neighbor dispute that ended with one man hospitalized after being shot and another man in custody.

As reported by 5 EYEWITNESS NEWS last week, Davis Moturi says he repeatedly called police about threats made by his neighbor, 54-year-old John Sawchak.

Many city council members are saying a separate review is necessary in this case. Prosecutors say Sawchak shot Moturi after a months-long dispute. Video shows Moturi pruning a tree near the property line and then a pop is heard before he falls to the ground.

However, it took days for officers to arrest Sawchak after prosecutors charged him with the shooting and after city council members called for police to take action.

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Moturi also says for nearly a year, he had been reaching out for help from Minneapolis police regarding harassment and threats from Sawchak. On Sunday, Police Chief Brian O’Hara also apologized, saying the department “failed” Moturi.

During Thursday’s meeting, council members called for an independent review of the case in addition to the internal review.

“Seeing another Black man not be delivered the justice that they deserved and to see our police department or leadership initially blame said victim for the cause of their near-death experience — it was disheartening to hear that our actions to bring attention to eight months of inaction was labeled as political,” Ward 2 Council Member Robin Wonsley said.

Early Thursday afternoon, a spokesperson for Minneapolis mayor Jacob Frey issued the following statement regarding an independent review into the shooting:

“Mayor Frey fully supports an independent review of this incident. The mayor and City are committed to always doing better, and this means closely examining past actions and finding where there may be ways to improve and grow.

“The mayor extends his condolences to Davis Moturi, his wife, Caroline, and their family and friends. The safety of our residents is a top priority and any form of violence or hate speech is completely unacceptable and does not align with who we are as a community.

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Brian O’Hara will continue to be the Minneapolis Police Chief.”



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