St. Paul Man Charged in 2020 Rochester Rape Case

Rochester, MN (KROC-AM News)- A St. Paul man suspected in a three-year-old Rochester rape case made his first appearance in Olmsted County Court Wednesday morning. 

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Court documents say Rochester Police responded to St. Mary’s Hospital on the night of May 2, 2020 to speak with a sexual assault victim. She told officers she was at a friend’s residence when the father of her friend’s child and a man she did not recognize came to the home sometime after midnight on May 2. 

The victim told police her friend and the father of her friend’s children went into another room for an argument while she sat in a common area of the home with the unknown man. The criminal complaint says the man and her smoked cannabis then the man began touching her neck. 

Court documents say the woman refused his advances and at one point grabbed a knife from the kitchen to fend him off. The complaint says the man got the knife away from her, went to the bathroom then returned to the room and raped her. 

The alleged rape stopped when the victim’s friend and father of her child emerged from the room they has previously gone into, according to the complaint. The woman told police she did not know who the assailant was, however investigators used social media and a photo lineup to identify the suspect as 27-year-old Antonio Cross. 

If you or someone you know has been sexually assaulted, resources are available for help. Visit the RAINN website (Rape, Abuse, and Incest National Network) or dial 800-656-HOPE (800-656-4673).

Court documents say Cross acknowledged being with the victim on the night of the alleged rape but denied the victim’s accusation. Investigators obtained a search warrant for a sample of Cross’s DNA and found it matched DNA taken from the victim when she was at St. Mary’s Hospital, the complaint says. 

Cross appeared during a remote hearing Wednesday morning on a felony third-degree criminal sexual charge. He was released without bail but with conditions and is due back in court on May 23.