Prosecutors have filed the first criminal charges against a man suspected of sexually assaulting multiple women in Minneapolis over eight years.
Jory D. Wiebrand, 34, of Ham Lake, was charged Monday in Hennepin County District Court in two home invasions in the Marcy-Holmes neighborhood in Minneapolis, allegedly sexually assaulting the women living there.
More charges are expected in coming days. Wiebrand is a suspect in a total of 10 sexual assaults, assaults and break-ins in the Marcy-Holmes neighborhood and in Anoka County, the Hennepin County Attorney's Office said Monday.
Wiebrand has been in the Hennepin County jail since his arrest Friday. Prosecutors have requested bail of $2 million in one case and $1 million in the other.
In a statement, Hennepin County Attorney Mike Freeman commended multiple agencies involved for "excellent police work."
"Until last week, Mr. Wiebrand's DNA was not on file with any police agency, so developing a fingerprint and getting a match from an earlier, unrelated arrest allowed police to identify him as a suspect and seek a search warrant to obtain his DNA," Freeman said in the statement. "While we need to prove his guilt in court, if we are successful, we will seek an enhanced sentence so he will be unable to terrorize women for a long time."
Wiebrand was charged with first-degree burglary and criminal predatory conduct in a burglary on June 2 last year, and first-degree criminal sexual assault and first-degree burglary with assault in another break-in two months later on Aug. 7.
No date for a court appearance has been set.