Charges: Homeless man rapes St. Paul woman who let him stay in home

A St. Paul woman's kindness was exploited by a homeless man who raped her while staying in her home, according to charges and her own detailed recollection of the attack that she says was witnessed by her 3-year-old daughter.

Luke M. Johnson, 23, of Billings, Mont., was charged in Ramsey County District Court with two counts of first-degree criminal sexual conduct in connection with the assault last week in the 24-year-old woman's home, where she cares for her three children.

In a lengthy post Sunday on her Facebook page, the woman explained that Johnson was someone she had known for years, and "I welcome my friends into my home as my family and love them all very much. I work hard as a daycare teacher."

She then detailed what she says happened that night and how it went on for 5 hours, and how Johnson said "horrific things about my personal intimate life, my sexuality and my relationship with my VERY recently ex wife."

The woman revealed "I now have severe internal bruising in my neck ... i can barely move ... I have needed to take dozens of antibiotics to fight off any potential disease this monster could have given me ... I relived it all by going to the hospital and getting a rape kit done ... telling every detail of what happened to me ... numerous times to police, doctors, and sexual assault advocates.

"I am afraid to go home. My children are afraid to go home. One of my children witnessed my assault ... and she is 3 years old!!!!"

She went on to say that she's going public on Facebook in the hopes that "this helps more women come forward. i am doing what is right!!!"

While the woman identifies herself in connection with what she wrote, the Star Tribune rarely names people who could be victims of sexual assault.

In an interview Tuesday afternoon with the Star Tribune, the woman said she put her story, name and photo out there on Facebook because she wants to encourage others like her to "come forward about what happens to them. They need to do that on their own."

The woman, who was raised about an hour's drive from the Twin Cities in Wisconsin, credited her late father for giving her the strength to tackle what she went through head-on.

"He taught me to be a tough person," she said. "My dad was a sex crimes investigator. ... He helped people for many years in similar situations."

According to the complaint:

After the woman went to bed, Johnson got in bed with her. She asked him to leave, but he gagged her with his fingers and raped her.

At one point, Johnson slapped her several times in the face and said, "I know you like it. Shut Up!" the complaint continued.

The next morning, the woman went to work. Johnson sent her two text messages asking "is everything okay?" He then said he "kind of blacked out last night after smoking that. ... Well I hope I did nothing wrong."

The woman underwent a sexual assault exam at a hospital.

Police went to the home and found Johnson asleep in the living room. He declined to say anything to the officers.