Man Charged For Sexually Assaulting 7-Year-Old Girl In St. Paul
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) – St. Paul police are trying to figure out if two separate attacks on little girls in the past week are connected.
Police say a man took a little girl from outside of a home Thursday night. It happened on the 300 block of Dayton Avenue. After looking for a couple of hours, police found the 7-year-old girl inside a halfway house about a block away.
On Monday, a 5-year-old girl was assaulted while waiting for her school bus just about two miles from the halfway house.
Police arrested one man in connection with Thursday night's assault but haven't arrested anyone for the bus stop attack.
On Friday afternoon, the Ramsey County Attorney charged 47-year-old Mark Meihofer with criminal sexual conduct and kidnapping. He will appear in court Monday where prosecutors will ask for $2 million bail.
Police credit neighbors for helping find the victim in last night's case.
"There [were] officers coming door-to-door, asking, 'Have you seen this girl?'" neighbor Jennetta Clay said. "Everybody was out of their apartments looking around."
The 7-year-old girl's father told St. Paul police he was checking on a property he owns along the 300 block of Dayton Avenue Thursday night at around 6:45 p.m. His daughter ran outside just ahead of him but when he went to find her, she was gone.
"Then we saw the officers," Clay said. "They were looking in the backs of cars back of the building :30 ..."
Dozens of neighbors like Clay joined in the search. Within two hours, neighbors had described a man who had been acting suspiciously. The search led police to the Catholic Charities St. Christopher Place just around the block.
"Intially he didn't answer the door, so officers -- in effort to find girl as soon as possible -- started dismantling the door," Steve Linders of St. Paul Police said. "That's when the officers looked in the room and saw the little girl, and it was apparent she had been sexually assaulted."
Three days before that, a 5-year-old girl was brutally assaulted at 8 a.m. as she waited for her school bus about two miles away at Cook Avenue and Park Street.
Public records show Mark Meihofer was charged with soliciting a minor for a sex act in 2011 in Anoka County, but that case was dismissed due to mental illness.
Court records say Meihofer told the girl he would bring her back home at 9, but if she didn't do as he said he would kidnap her. The records say the girl tested positive for the presence of amphetamine, and Meihofer made comments saying God told him to do it, and he blamed God for getting him in trouble.
Catholic Charities CEO released a statement regarding the incident at St. Christopher Place:
"What we know of the situation is tragic and unacceptable. St. Christopher Place is a fully independent living apartment building ... Catholic Charities does not accept Level 3 sex offenders at any of our housing locations."
A Level 3 sex offender is considered the highest risk to re-offend. If a level 3 offender moves into your neighborhood, you will be notified by law enforcement.
