A teenager accused of sexually assaulting a 5-year-old girl waiting for her school bus in St. Paul nearly six years ago has been arrested in Illinois and charged Friday in juvenile court in Ramsey County.
The suspect, who is now 19, was arrested Monday at a hotel in the St. Louis suburb of Cahokia Heights, Ill. Agencies involved in the apprehension included the St. Clair County Sheriff's Office, the U.S. Marshals Service and the FBI.
St. Paul police said the suspect, who was 13 at the time of the attack, confessed to their investigators. He now awaits extradition back to Minnesota, police said. Because of his age at the time of the offense, police explained, his name is not being released.
The Ramsey County Attorney's Office charged the suspect by juvenile petition with first-degree criminal sexual conduct and kidnapping.
"While the individual in question is now 19 years old, his age at the time of the offense — 13 — renders both the petition and the court proceedings nonpublic," the County Attorney's Office explained in a statement.
Since state law does not allow anyone under age 14 to be charged as an adult with a crime, prosecutors "will not be able to pursue adult certification proceedings," the statement added.
However, the suspect could be compelled by the court to register for life as a sex offender should he be found guilty in juvenile court.
At age 16 in late 2018, he was charged in a juvenile petition with being among several youths who carried out a string of burglaries in St. Paul over a two-day span. He was found guilty and served between nine and 12 months in juvenile detention.
