Man Accused of Sexually Assaulting 11-Year-Old at Minneapolis Park
BY MN CRIME STAFF
A 27-year-old man is facing felony and gross misdemeanor charges after prosecutors say he sexually assaulted an 11-year-old girl last fall at a Minneapolis park.
Prosecutors also allege he exposed himself to the girl while she was walking to school.
Isaiah Jeremiah Kessel, of Forest Lake, was charged this week with second-degree criminal sexual conduct involving a child under 14 and a gross misdemeanor count of indecent exposure in the presence of a minor.
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According to the criminal complaint, the incident happened around 10 a.m. on Nov. 18, 2025. Police were called after a homeowner reported that a juvenile girl ran to their door asking for help and said she had been touched by an unknown man in a nearby park.
THE FOLLOWING CONTAINS DESCRIPTIONS OF SEXUAL ASSAULT. DISCRETION IS ADVISED.
Officers met with the girl, who was visibly shaken. She told police she had been walking to school when she stopped at the park and sat on a bench. While she was seated, a man approached her and sat next to her. He asked her age and she told the man she was 11.
Prosecutors say the man then showed her pornographic images on his phone, pulled down his pants, exposed himself and allegedly began touching himself. The girl reported Kessel touched her multiple times, including on the thigh and shoulder. She told officers the man asked her if she wanted to go to his car and began walking toward a dark-colored vehicle. The girl then ran from the park to a nearby home, where the resident called 911.
She described the suspect as a Black man with short hair, wearing black pajama pants with a distinct face character printed on them and wrapped in a grey blanket.
After bringing the girl home, officers returned to the park and found a vehicle parked along the north side of the area. As an officer passed the vehicle, a man matching the description stepped out and was identified as Kessel. Officers observed a grey blanket inside the vehicle, consistent with what the girl had described. Kessel told police he had been at the park for about an hour and admitted walking through the park but denied the incident and said he didn’t talk with anyone.
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Kessel is charged with second-degree criminal sexual conduct for sexual contact with a child under 14 when the defendant is more than 36 months older than the victim. That felony carries a maximum sentence of 25 years in prison. He is also charged with indecent exposure involving a minor under 16, a gross misdemeanor punishable by up to 364 days in jail.
Kessel was arrested Wednesday by Minneapolis Park Police and made his initial court appearance Thursday afternoon. Judge Paul Scoggin set bail at $20,000 with conditions including having no contact with the victim, to “stay a reasonable distance away” from the victim’s residence, no possession of firearms or ammo, to stay within Minnesota unless given court approval and to make all future court appearances.
According to jail records, Kessel posted bail and was released from custody Thursday night on those conditions, with his next court appearance set for Feb. 27.
