Rochester Rape Trial Halted When Prosecutors Dismissed the Case

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Rochester, MN (KROC-AM News) -  A St. Paul man's trial on a rape charge in Rochester ended abruptly Wednesday with the dismissal of the case.

Olmsted County Attorney Mark Ostrem says an Olmsted County jury was hearing the case against 28-year-old Antonio Cross when "some challenges arose." He indicated that prompted the prosecution to dismiss the third-degree criminal sexual conduct charge and end the trial.

Cross was accused of sexually assaulting a woman in a Rochester apartment in May 2020. According to the criminal complaint, The alleged victim told investigators she was visiting a friend when the father of the friend's child stopped at the residence in the company of Cross. She stated that her friend and her child's father then got into an argument and left her alone with Cross when they went into another room.

The woman alleged that Cross put his hand around her neck and that she ended up threatening him with a kitchen knife when he ignored her request to remove his hand. The alleged victim told Rochester police that Cross then took the knife away from her, returned his hand to her neck, ripped her skirt, and sexually assaulted her. The now-dismissed charges alleged the assault was interrupted when the arguing couple reentered the room.

The criminal complaint says the woman then went to the hospital and reported being sexually assaulted. The court document says investigators later obtained a search warrant for a DNA sample from Cross and testing confirmed that he had sexual contact with the alleged victim.