DNA from Recent Case Solved a 2013 Rape — Now a Minn. Man Will Spend Nearly 20 Years in Prison

A Minneapolis, Minn., man will spend nearly 20 years in prison for raping a woman more than a decade ago — a crime solved when DNA from a newer case matched evidence collected years earlier.

The Hennepin County Sexual Assault Kit Initiative retested backlogged kits and linked Mohamud Bulle to a 2013 attack on Melissa Zimmerman, CBS Minnesota reported, citing a criminal complaint. Zimmerman had been separated from friends after a night out in October 2013 when Bulle assaulted her; a passerby found her minutes later and called 911, the outlet said, per the complaint.

Bulle was sentenced on Wednesday, Nov. 12, to 237 months — nearly 20 years — behind bars for the attack.

According to court documents obtained by PEOPLE, Minneapolis police initially closed the 2013 case after noting the victim did not want to move forward. But in court at Bulle's sentencing hearing, Zimmerman disputed that characterization, per the outlet.

After the assault, Zimmerman underwent a sexual-assault exam and a kit was collected and sent to the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, the court documents show. The kit wasn’t tested for years, but in 2024, when Bulle’s DNA was gathered during an attempted-murder and assault investigation, it matched the 2013 evidence, according to CBS Minnesota.

“I wanted to give up a lot,” Zimmerman said at the Nov. 12 hearing, per the outlet. “But if I wouldn’t have done it that day, I wouldn’t have been able to send a horrible, horrible person to jail finally.”

Zimmerman’s husband told the court, “When do the victims get to decide whether someone is prosecuted for a crime that was obvious?”

Additionally, Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty apologized to Zimmerman at the hearing, per the outlet, saying: “I am so sorry. You deserve to have your cases prioritized and taken seriously."