Rochester, MN (KROC-AM News) - The charges have been dropped in the case of a Rochester man who was accused of sexually assaulting a teenage girl three years ago.

According to a criminal complaint filed in Olmsted County Court in August 2022, a friend of the juvenile victim reported to authorities that the girl had told him and his wife that she had been sexually assaulted multiple times by multiple people at a trailer home in Rochester in January 2022. The teenager was in foster care and had run away from a home in Farmington.

The Charges Were Filed in August 2023

The court document identified one of her attackers as 43-year-old Mohamed Hussein Omer. The charges alleged that he picked her up at a gas station and brought her to a Rochester residence, where Omer and another male sexually assaulted her.

TJ Leverentz/TSM Rochester-Preston

The charges in the case state that the other man then took the girl to a gas station, where she met a friend who drove her to Children's Hospital in Minneapolis for a sexual assault exam. The criminal complaint indicates investigators executed a search warrant at the location of the reported sexual assaults and reported finding items that the victim described seeing. They also found female glasses in a vehicle parked at the residence.

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Omer was charged with third and fifth-degree criminal sexual conduct, while a juvenile male was identified as the second suspect. It's unknown if he was charged.

A filing in Olmsted County Court earlier this week states that prosecutors have dismissed all of the charges filed against Omer. The document only lists "in the interest of justice" as the reason the charges were dropped.

Omer dismissal - Olmsted County Court

These Common Household Items Are Now Banned In Minnesota

A hot topic lately is PFAS, or perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances, also known as "forever chemicals" because they are difficult for humans to detoxify and have half-lives measured in years. These chemicals accumulate in the body over time and can cause significant health issues even at low exposure levels

PFAS are commonly found in the environment and the human body and have been linked to a range of health concerns including increased cholesterol levels, potential disruption of hormone systems, reduced immune function, increased risk of certain cancers, developmental issues in children, and reproductive problems, particularly in pregnant women.

On January 1, 2024, Minnesota prohibited PFAS in firefighting foam and food packaging. The state is taking an even more aggressive stance against the chemicals in 2025.

According to the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency, the first prohibitions of products containing intentionally added PFAS under Amara's Law (Minn. Stat. § 116.943) are now in effect in Minnesota, meaning you can no longer legally purchase these items.

If you're wondering if you already have products with intentionally added PFAS, you can take the following steps to be sure:

Check the label - Look for products that are labeled as PFAS-free.
Check for keywords - Look for words like "waterproof," "stain-repellent," or "dirt-repellant" on the tag.
Check for ingredients - Avoid products that contain ingredients with "perfluoro" or "fluoro" in their name.
Use a third-party verification service - Some organizations offer third-party verification of products that claim to be made without PFAS.

As of January 1, 2025, you can no longer purchase products with intentionally added PFAS in Minnesota. These products fall under the 11 categories below.

Gallery Credit: David Drew