Man charged with sexual assault after DNA match – Post-Bulletin

WABASHA A DNA match from a sexual encounter last summer resulted in criminal charges against a Zumbrota man.

Cole Alexander Muenkel, 21, will make his initial appearance June 21 in Wabasha County District Court, where he faces one count each of first-, second- and third-degree criminal sexual conduct. All are felonies.

He remains free in lieu of $25,000 conditional bail.

The charges stem from an alleged incident Aug. 7 at an underage drinking party.

A girl at the party passed out on the tailgate of a truck, the complaint says, and someone took a photo of her with several males around her, including Muenkel. He can be seen holding a canned beverage in his hand; the victim said Muenkel gave her alcohol to drink, the document says.

The girl woke up in the back seat of the truck some time later to find Muenkel on top of her, sexually assaulting her, court documents say.

He eventually left the back seat; after a few minutes, he came back, picked the girl up and moved her to her car, the report says.

The teenager went with her mother to the hospital, where a sex assault kit and exam were completed. The victim had been physically injured, the complaint says, including bruising on her leg, a blood clot, redness and a genital injury.

Muenkel denied the assault, and told authorities the girl was making it up. He also initially denied bringing alcohol, then allegedly admitted he'd brought some but not for the girl.

Muenkel told investigators he'd put the girl in the back seat because he was cold outside, but said he sat in the front seat. He also denied drinking, acknowledging that he was on probation for driving while impaired.

The samples collected from the victim by the hospital staff were sent to the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, along with a sample from Muenkel.

According to the court document, an analysis of the samples shows that DNA from a sample from the victim's vagina matches the known DNA sample of Muenkel with a 99.99 percent certainty.

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Man charged with sexual assault after DNA match - Post-Bulletin