A St. Paul man kidnapped and raped a teenage girl who once lived upstairs from him, according to charges filed Thursday.

Jesus Medina, 42, and an unidentified accomplice allegedly grabbed the 17-year-old girl by her hair and forced her into a car on Feb. 3, hitting her repeatedly as they drove her to a house in St. Paul where the assault occurred.

Medina is charged in Ramsey County District Court with one count each of kidnapping and first-degree criminal sexual conduct.

According to the complaint: Police spoke to the girl and her mother on Feb. 4. The mother told police that her daughter had been kidnapped the previous evening.

The girl said that she was walking to her sister's home nearby when two men grabbed her by the hair and dragged her into a car. They allegedly hit her when she tried to look at them or open the car door. Medina was driving, she told police.

The girl said that the passenger threw her cellphone out the car window. The men allegedly drove the girl around, Medina holding her face down as he drove, before eventually stopping near some apartment buildings.

"Medina released [the girl's] hair and the passenger punched her in the face several times," the complaint said. "[The girl] cried and begged them to let her go and bring her home."

The girl tried to flee, but was grabbed by the passenger and thrown back into the car. The men drove the girl around for 10 more minutes before stopping at a house, the charges said.

The girl was dragged into the house and taken upstairs, where both men hit her and Medina allegedly raped her.

The passenger had apparently left the house before the sexual assault.

Medina kicked and punched the girl before he left, the complaint said. The girl couldn't move, and lay in the room until sunrise. She fled into the street, and found herself possibly in the area of Arcade Street and Payne Avenue.

The girl identified Medina in a photo lineup, and recognized him as someone who had once rented a room downstairs of her family's home, the charges said. He was an acquaintance of her brother-in-law.

DNA results from a sexual assault kit matched Medina's DNA profile. Police have been unable to locate him.

Chao Xiong • 612-270-4708

Twitter: @ChaoStrib