A 20-year-old man from Rochester, Minnesota, was sentenced to less than six months in jail for violating two girls aged four and nine.
Mohamed Bakari Shei was sentenced to 176 days in the Olmsted County Adult Detention Center after pleading guilty considering that the state had sufficient evidence to convict him for his mistreatment of minors.
In December 2022, Shei pleaded for the state to place him on probation instead of incarceration.
He entered an Alford plea, meaning that he did not admit guilt to the crimes, but he admitted the jury could likely convict him based on the evidence provided.
Shei’s lawyer, James McGeeney, said that the court could not sentence Shei to serve jail time because it would be in violation of the plea agreement.
Moreover, Olmsted County Senior Attorney Thomas Gort stated that Shei’s plea deal included a “stay of adjudication and no prison time to prevent him from prolonging his prosecution.”
On Jan. 30, 2023, District Judge Jacob Allen disagreed with McGeeney and sentenced Shei to serve 116 days in the adult detention center and 30 years of probation. The judge also ordered him to complete 200 hours of community service.
Furthermore, the criminal complaint states that a female juvenile reported to a Rochester police investigator in April 2020 that Shei had violated her on Mother’s Day 2018 at a Rochester residence. At the time, the juvenile was around 9 years old and Shei would have been about 16 years old.
Thus, Shei was originally charged in juvenile court but was later certified for adult prosecution.
The girl informed the police that Shei promised to give her money and buy her toys.
Mohamed Bakari Shei, 20, of Rochester was convicted of raping two girls ages approximately 4 and 8 years old when the abuse began. Charges say the sexual assaults occurred multiple times.
He was sentenced Monday to 180 days in local jail.
This is our @MNCourts system. pic.twitter.com/edXR24xpUS
— CrimeWatchMpls (@CrimeWatchMpls) January 31, 2023
One of the victims spoke during the sentencing hearing saying that they are unable to “get over” the crimes that they were subjected to. “There is no moving on or getting over it, I’ve tried,” the victim said.
“Some day you will have to answer for this egregious act against a child,” said a family member of one of the victims.
During the hearing, Allen told Shei, “I hope you heard what was said in this court today. The conduct they described and the way it affected them should be something that haunts you.”
