Charges: Minneapolis man rapes two women while out on bail for earlier sex assault allegation

A 22-year-old man out on bail after being charged with trying to sexually assault a woman he met at a Minneapolis bar went on to rape two other women, prosecutors allege.

Johnny O. De Leon, of Minneapolis, is scheduled to appear in Hennepin County District Court next week in connection with the three sexual assault cases filed against him. In the meantime, he remains jailed in lieu of $1.5 million bail, a total for all three cases.

De Leon's attorney, David McCormick, said Tuesday that his client "absolutely denies everything."

"He's been adamant with me," McCormick said. "He says no way, so we're going to fight."

The first attack occurred on Dec. 16, after De Leon met the woman at a bar on S. Lyndale Avenue, according to the criminal complaint alleging second-degree criminal sexual conduct. His attempt to rape her on the ground behind a nearby home was thwarted when men came to her rescue about 3:45 a.m. and held De Leon until police arrived, the complaint read.

Bail for De Leon, who up to that point had no criminal history in Minnesota other than traffic tickets, was set by Judge Tamara Garcia as prosecutors requested and the law called for: $250,000 with no conditions or $75,000 with conditions.

De Leon was released 11 days later after paying $7,500 for a bail bond agency to back up the conditional option. Terms for his release included he remain law abiding and not possess weapons as the case proceeds, two conditions that he is accused of violating.

"The next time you see me, don't pick my car," the complaint quoted him as telling the woman before he grabbed her by the throat and forced her to have sexual intercourse and then dropped her off a few blocks away.

The woman took a blurry photo of his license plate, the charge read. Police were able to tie the plate to a car owned by De Leon, and she identified him on July 1 as her attacker, according to prosecutors.

On June 17, De Leon was armed with a knife and a gun when he raped another woman, according to a first-degree criminal sexual conduct charge. He's accused of driving up to a woman who was walking along E. Lake Street to a grocery store and she accepted his offer of a ride.

He drove into a parking lot, pulled his pocket knife and a semiautomatic handgun, ordered the woman into the back seat and raped her as the blade was held to her neck, the charging document continued.

De Leon dropped off the woman, according to prosecutors, and she noted his license plate. Police arrested him at his workplace, a pocket knife allegedly in his backpack, on June 25.