A man riding a BMX bike grabbed a woman by the throat, threatened to kill her and sexually assaulted her in a Saint Paul alley as she tried to reach a shelter for help, according to charges filed earlier this month.
Corey Jashaun Ashford, 22, of Saint Paul, faces a charge of first-degree criminal sexual conduct for sexually assaulting the victim under circumstances causing her to fear great bodily harm.
According to the complaint, police responded to Hovander House in Saint Paul at about 4:20 a.m. on April 25 after a woman arrived crying and visibly upset. The victim told officers she had been left in a truck by an acquaintance when it broke down earlier that night. After being dragged out of the truck by another woman, the victim began walking along Dale Street, where she encountered a man riding a BMX-style bike.
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The victim said the man rode near her for a while before leaving, but as she continued walking toward Sherburne Avenue, she heard someone running up behind her. She recognized the man from the bike, who then grabbed her throat, threatened her and demanded her belongings while acting as if he had a weapon in his pocket. The victim reported she urinated on herself out of fear and struggled to breathe as the man kept his hand around her throat.
The complaint states the man then wrapped his arm around the victim’s throat and forced her into an alley. There, he ordered her to pull down her pants and lean over a fence. The victim said the man stood behind her and told her to “put it in,” but she did not move. The man then sexually assaulted her. The victim reported crying and fearing for her life throughout the assault, believing the man was going to kill her.
After the assault, the man left on foot and the victim walked to Hovander House for help. She was transported to Regions Hospital for a sexual assault examination, and police collected swabs for DNA analysis. The victim showed officers the location of the assault.
On July 2, the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension reported that DNA from the victim’s sexual assault exam was a mixture from two people, including male DNA. On July 13, the BCA matched the male DNA profile to Corey Jashaun Ashford through the state’s convicted offender DNA database. The statistical analysis found it was more than 100 billion times more likely the DNA came from the victim and Ashford than from the victim and an unrelated person.
Ashford was arrested July 13 on unrelated matters and a warrant. According to police reports, he fled the scene on his BMX bike but was later apprehended. At the Ramsey County Jail, Ashford declined to discuss the July 13 arrest but, when told about the April assault and the DNA match, responded, “Okay,” and denied recalling the incident.
Ashford was ordered detained, with bail set at $250,000.
About This Charge
Minnesota’s criminal sexual conduct statutes are organized by degree under § 609.342 (first), § 609.343 (second), § 609.344 (third) and § 609.345 (fourth). First-degree convictions carry up to 30 years in prison; the lower degrees carry penalties up to 25, 15 and 10 years respectively. Cases involving minors trigger additional mandatory-minimum provisions and predatory-offender registration under § 243.166.
Related MN CRIME Coverage
Saint Paul Man Assaulted Shelter Worker, Caught on Surveillance • Roseville Neighbor Sexually Assaulted 22-Year-Old Resident • Saint Paul Man Punched Woman, Pointed Loaded Glock at Her Chest
Jurisdictional Context
Ramsey County encompasses Saint Paul and is served by the Ramsey County Attorney’s Office. Felony cases are heard in the Second Judicial District at the Ramsey County Courthouse in downtown Saint Paul; the Ramsey County Sheriff’s Office operates the Ramsey County Correctional Facility in Maplewood.
