WILLMAR, Minn. - The man charged in the kidnapping of a teenage girl from her Willmar home earlier this month now faces charges in a newly filed sexual assault case.
Jesse James Rhoades, 20, of Willmar, appeared Wednesday, Oct. 17, in Kandiyohi County District Court on three new felony charges: two counts of third-degree criminal sexual conduct and one count of fourth-degree criminal sexual conduct.
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He is already accused of threatening a 16-year-old girl with a knife, handcuffing and kidnapping her and choking her until she blacked out.
He is charged with three felonies in that case as well: second-degree assault, kidnapping - to commit great bodily harm/terrorize, and false imprisonment - intentional restraint.
As of Wednesday afternoon, Rhoades was in custody at the Kandiyohi County Jail, with unconditional bail set at $50,000 total for both cases.
According to court documents in the newly filed case, a teenage girl reported to law enforcement earlier this month that Rhoades had raped her this summer, sometime between June and August.
Rhoades, whom she knew, had picked her up as she was walking in Willmar. Instead of taking her home, Rhoades took the girl to his apartment and sexually assaulted her, court documents state.
The girl told law enforcement she told Rhoades she did not want to be there and did not want what was happening. She said that when she began crying, Rhoades hit her a few times across the face. When the assault ended, Rhoades dropped the girl off about a block from her home, the documents said.
When interviewed by law enforcement, Rhoades denied ever having sexual intercourse with the girl and said she told him that she had been raped by someone else.
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The girl's boyfriend told law enforcement that she had mentioned an incident to him but that she did not want her boyfriend to do anything about it and did not give him details, court documents said.
Rhoades' next court appearance for this case is set for Oct. 31. His next appearance for the assault and kidnapping charges is scheduled for Dec. 12.
