Charges Dropped Against Man Accused of Raping an 11-Year-Old Girl in Bemidji

The Beltrami County attorney is dropping sexual assault charges against a man accused of raping an 11-year-old girl in Bemidji last September.

23-year old Oscar Luna of Mission, Texas was identified as a suspect following a raid of a house where the sexual assault was suspected of taking place. Authorities said he matched the description the girl gave to investigators and he was initially charged with 1-st degree criminal sexual conduct.

But Beltrami County Attorney David Hanson says DNA collected from Luna was not found on the girl. Hanson says there is no doubt the girl was sexually assaulted but at this point there is no evidence, admissible in a court of law, to implicate Luna for the sexual assault of the girl.

Hanson says based upon the lack of evidence necessary to prove this case the Beltrami County Attorney’s office will be dismissing the charges against Luna. Drugs were found also found at the scene which is inside a school zone. Luna will be prosecuted for one count of third-degree possession of a controlled substance, a felony, which he intends to plead guilty to immediately.