Man Who Groped Girl at Fridley Walmart Gets 12 Years of Probation

The sentence for Nathan William Charles Jones, 30, of Columbia Heights also included a fine of $1,000 or 100 hours of community service, WCCO reported.

Nathan William Charles Jones, who pleaded guilty to groping a girl at the Fridley Walmart in 2011 as she stood within a foot of her mother, was sentenced Wednesday to 12 years of supervised probation, according to WCCO. Jones' case was set to go to trial in January, but store video showing the incident prompted his plea, according to Assistant County Attorney Amy Reed-Hall. The WCCO report also said Jones' sentence includes: Read the full WCCO article. Jones' age and the age of the girl at the time of the Dec. 26, 2011,   incident (he was 29 and she was 11) elevated the charge to a felony, Reed-Hall told Patch in January after Jones entered a guilty plea that stopped short of his scheduled trial. Under law, penalties for a conviction …

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Court Upholds Ahmed Sule's Conviction for Sexually Assaulting Elderly Fridley Resident

DNA evidence matching DNA obtained when the defendant was wearing 'rack belt' that could deliver shock was admissible, the Minnesota Court of Appeals ruled Monday.

The conviction of Ahmed Sule for a sexual assault on an elderly man in his Fridley home will stand, after a Minnesota Court of Appeals opinion issued Monday. The St. Paul Pioneer Press reported: The conviction of a Fridley man accused of sexually assaulting a legally blind elderly man was affirmed on appeal. The Minnesota Court of Appeals ruled the Anoka County District Court did not err when it denied Ahmed Sule's motion to suppress DNA evidence during his trial or when it required Sule to wear a rack belt to restrain him during the proceedings, according to an unpublished written opinion released by the court Monday, Jan. 28. Sule, 26, was sentenced in district court Dec. 2, 2011 to nearly 30 years in prison for the 2010 offense, which …

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Church Youth Worker Acquitted of Sex Assaults on Girl from Fridley

Trial was in Washington County due to conflict of interest concerns.

A jury has acquitted a man of six counts of criminal sexual conducts for alleged sexual assaulting a teenaged girl from Fridley in 2010, according to a statement from the Washington County Attorney's Office. Last year prosecutors alleged Damian Blake Burkhalter of Blaine of assaulting the then-14-year-old girl at the Glen Cary Lutheran Church in Ham Lake where he served as youth director, on church trips, at his home and in a car. The girl later moved from Fridley, according to ABC Newspapers, which also said that the Anoka County Attorney's Office asked Washington County prosecutors to take the case because of "a real or perceived conflict of interest." Here is the Washington County Attorney's statement: The Washington County Attorney’s …

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Prosecutors: Fridley Man Sexually Assaulted Girl

Attack occurred at home shared by several families, says complaint.

The Anoka County Attorney's Office has charged a Fridley man with sexual assaulting an 11-year-old girl at a home in Fridley last September, according to the St. Paul Pioneer Press. Aka Lawrence Fualefeh, 37, appeared in court Thursday to face a charge of first-degree criminal sexual assault in the alleged Sept. 25, 2011, incident, according to news reports. WCCO reported that several families from Cameroon lived at the home in the 1000 block of Norton Ave. NE, just north of Rice Creek Trail West Park. Online outlets of Cameroon news picked up the story in English and French. According to jail records, Fualefeh was arrested Wednesday and remained behind bars Friday morning with bail set at $40,000.

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Updated: Police Arrest Man in Fridley Wal-Mart Child-groping Case

Columbia Heights search led to arrest in Crystal.

Update (4 p.m.): The man arrested Friday in the Fridley Wal-mart child-groping case will not be charged until Tuesday, according to Cmdr. Paul Sommer of the Anoka County Sheriff's Office. Sommer said officers from his department arrested the Columbia Heights resident without incident at his place of employment in Crystal. According to the county website, he is now in the Anoka County jail. Original post (3:40 p.m.): Police arrested a 29-year-old Columbia Heights man Friday on suspicion of sexual assault against a child at the Fridley Wal-Mart store Monday. According to a statement from the Anoka County Sheriff's Office Friday afternoon: An arrest was made today ... in the sexual assault that took place at the Fridley Wal-Mart on 12-26-11. …

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UPDATED: Child Sex Assault at Fridley Wal-Mart Caught on Camera, Police Say

Authorities: Tips coming in on 'brazen' groping of girl.

UPDATE (5 p.m.): A male suspect stalked a young girl inside a crowded Wal-Mart store in Fridley, MN, on Monday, groped her in the electronics aisle as she stood just inches from her mother, then slipped away before store staff or police could catch him.  But a camera system meant for catching thieves caught video of the suspect's movements before, during and after the alleged sexual assault, according to authorities. Crucial aspects of the incident—including Wal-Mart's video from inside the store and the exact age of the alleged victim—remain under wraps. Investigators are following up on tips from the public in response to an outline of the incident and still images of the man they say committed the "brazen" act. But in interviews …

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Jury Finds Aggravating Factors in Fridley Sex-Assault Case

That lets Judge give Ahmed Sule a longer prison term at Ahmed Sule's Dec. 2 sentencing.

An Anoka County District Court jury decided Friday morning there were aggravating factors in the Sept. 19, 2010 Fridley sex-assault crimes they convicted Ahmed Sule of on Tuesday. The jury answered all six questions put to them about whether the victim's advanced age and infirm health made him vulnerable, and whether Sule knew or should have known about that vulnerability. The finding of aggravating factors allows Judge Tammi Frederickson to give Sule a sentence outside of Minnesota's sentencing guidelines. However, it does not require a longer sentence, defense attorney Jill Brisbois said in an interview. The Friday verdict brought to a close a two-week trial in a case that shook the Fridley community: the sexual assault of an 84-year-old…

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Update: Sule Breaks Down; Judge Orders New Competency Exam

Ahmed Sule will have a new review of his competency before sentencing in 2010 Fridley sexual assault.

Update (noon Wednesday): Anoka County District Judge Tammi A. Frederickson ordered a new test of Ahmed Sule's competency to stand trial after Sule broke down in court Wednesday morning. A jury convicted Sule Tuesday on five of six counts related the sexual assault of another Fridley resident in his home on Sept. 19, 2010. (The victim, who was 84 years old and blind, has since died.) Sule's defense attorney, Jill Brisbois, requested the new evaluation based on what she said she learned Wednesday: that despite repeated explanations of court proceedings, Sule only realized Wednesday morning that he had been convicted. Sule's new examination is set for 7 p.m. Wednesday at the Anoka County Jail. Frederickson said she gave the examiner the …

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Sule Guilty on 5 Counts in Fridley Sex Assault

The jury convicted Sule of criminal sexual assault of an 84-year-old Fridley man in 2010.

Update (3 p.m. Tuesday): See a PDF of the six charges from the amended criminal complaint against Ahmed Sule, five of which a jury found him guilty of on Tuesday afternoon. A summary of the verdict: Count 1: Criminal sexual conduct, first degree. Guilty. Count 2: Attempted criminal sexual conduct, first degree. Not guilty. Count 3: Criminal sexual conduct, second degree. Guilty. Count 4: Burglary, first degree: Guilty. Count 5: Criminal sexual conduct, third degree. Guilty. Count 6: Criminal sexual conduct, fourth degree. Guilty. Update (2:30 p.m. Tuesday): A jury found Ahmed Sule guilty on five of six charges Tuesday, a year and a day after a crime that shocked Fridley: the sexual assault of an 84-year-old blind man in his home. The jury …

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At Ahmed Sule Trial, Video of Deceased Accuser

The Fridley man who alleged Sule sexually assaulted him a year ago has since died.