Rochester man given 180 days in jail for raping girls

By Mark Wasson

ROCHESTER — A 20-year-old Rochester man will serve 180 days in jail and up to 30 years of probation in a case involving the rape of two juvenile girls in Olmsted County.

Mohamed Bakari Shei appeared before District Judge Jacob Allen Monday, Jan. 30, 2023, for his sentencing hearing where multiple family members spoke about how Shei’s actions affected them.

Shei was facing three different felony first-degree criminal conduct charges in two separate cases. His plea deal called for no prison time, a stay of adjudication and the dismissal of two out of three charges. If Shei completes his probation, all charges against him will be dismissed and will not be on his criminal record.

One of the juveniles in this case was around 9 years old and the other juvenile was between 4 and 5 years old at the time of the sexual assaults.

“There is no moving on or getting over it, I’ve tried,” one of Shei’s survivors said while fighting back tears in court Monday. She broke down and cried following her statement to the court.

A family member described one of the juvenile survivors as a bubbly girl who loved to share with others, but following Shei’s multiple sexual assaults, the juvenile became withdrawn and more reclusive.

The family member asked Shei to take responsibility for what he’s done to his victims and to their families.

“Some day you will have to answer for this egregious act against a child,” the family member said.

Shei was 15 and 16 years old at the time of the sexual assaults and he was initially charged in juvenile court in 2019. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, his case was pushed back to the point that prosecutors would soon lose jurisdictional authority to prosecute the case.

Charges were dismissed against Shei in those cases but were soon refiled. Shei was then given a plea deal that included his stay of adjudication and no prison time in exchange for him not challenging certification in adult court, which allowed for his continued prosecution, according to Olmsted County Senior Attorney Thomas Gort…