St. Paul police investigating home break-in, sexual assault by armed man in Mac-Groveland

A man broke into a home in St. Paul’s Macalester-Groveland neighborhood and sexually assaulted a resident early Monday, police said.

A woman told police she was sleeping when she heard someone pounding on the side door and a man she didn’t know forced entry into her home in the 300 block of South Snelling Avenue.

The man robbed the woman of money, pulled out a weapon and sexually assaulted her, said Sgt. Mike Ernster, a St. Paul police spokesman. He ran away and she called 911 just before 4:30 a.m.

St. Paul fire department medics transported the woman to Regions Hospital to be evaluated.

Officers searched the neighborhood for the suspect, but did not find him. He is described as African-American, 25 to 35 years old, 5 feet 10 to 5 feet 11 inches tall, with a vertical scar extending from his sternum to his belt line. He had a dark complexion and was wearing a black T-shirt, black pants with a zipper on the right leg and black heavy-soled shoes.

“Investigators with the police department’s sexual violence unit have been working since early this morning to determine who is responsible for this crime,” Ernster said in a statement. “In addition, members of the forensic services unit have processed the scene with the hope that they could locate evidence that could assist investigators with identifying the person responsible.”

Investigators are asking anyone with information to call them at 651-266-5685.

Sexual assaults by strangers are rare — eight out of 10 rapes are committed by someone known to the victim, according to the Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network.

Free services for victims of sexual violence, along with their families and friends, are available through St. Paul-Ramsey County Public Health’s SOS Sexual Violence Services’ 24-hour resource line at 651-266-1000.

Related: New program gives St. Paul-Ramsey County sex assault victims more options — and control

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