A Kenyan national living in the State of Minnesota, USA, is facing up to three decades in prison if he is convicted of the first-degree rape charges he is facing.
Police in Minnesota apprehended Brian Muinde Kimithi, 19, after a woman alleged that she had been violently raped by the suspect, whom she claimed did not stop assaulting her, even when she asked him to stop.
The woman, who was described as an adult and a resident of St Joseph city, was allegedly attacked by the Kenyan, whom the authorities in Minnesota identified as a student at St John’s University in Collegeville.
Court papers showed that Kimithi, who was enrolled as a member of the university’s Reserve Officers’ Training Corps (ROTC), faced first-degree criminal sexual conduct in connection with the alleged rape of the woman in question.
Kimithi appeared before Stearns County Judge William Cashman and faced stringent bail terms that were set at $400,000, an equivalent of about Sh51 million in the current exchange rate. The judge said Kimithi will face no conditions of release if he is able to deposit the bond of $400,000 (Sh51.4 million).
The judge also told Kimithi that his bail terms would be reduced to $200,000, or Sh26 million with conditions of release that include him not leaving the state or contacting the wom
According to online jail records, Kimithi, whose case is scheduled for an omnibus hearing on February 23, 2026, has been ordered to be detained at Stearns County Jail.
According to a communication from St John’s University, Kimithi has been de-registered as a student at the college where he was taking classes as an international student, following his arrest and arraignment on the alleged rape.
“The alleged rape victim, an adult woman, told investigators that she woke up to find Kimithi raping her,” read part of the criminal complaint.
The woman alleged that she told Kimithi to stop his action, but instead, he strangled her, “with full force”, especially when she allegedly tried to call for help.
The woman reportedly told the authorities that she experienced sharp pain in her throat and difficulty swallowing after allegedly being strangled by Kimithi
The criminal complaint indicated that police had observed and photographed scratches and bruises to the complainant’s neck and scratches to her chest, stomach and shoulder
A letter from the College of St Benedict/St John’s University and signed by the college President, Brian Bruess, indicated that Kimithi had been deregistered as a student.
The letter was sent to the students and their families to assure them that Kimithi was no longer a student at the college
Authorities indicated that law enforcement officers responded to a sexual assault report at an address on College Avenue S in St Joseph around 3 am on Tuesday, January 27, according to the criminal complaint.
