Minneapolis man charged in two sexual assaults

Hennepin County prosecutors have charged a Minneapolis man with two sexual assaults and said he could be involved in other cases going back to late last year.

Hennepin County Attorney Mike Freeman said Monday that Kenyatta Buckles, 24, targeted women he found on a website, megapersonals.com, and a dating app.

Freeman said Buckles used weapons, raped, or attempted to rape, and robbed the women.

"When we had him in custody for a March rape, the DNA came back on his two earlier cases," Freeman said. "We needed the DNA confirmation to be able to identify the individual."

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Buckles was charged in assaults that happened in January and February. In both cases, Buckles allegedly used a knife to threaten the women, according to the attorney's office. Prosecutors say in one of the cases, he recorded some of the sexual assault on the woman's cellphone.

The county attorney's office said the DNA found on a hat left in a victim's car matched that of Buckles. In the second incident, DNA from a condom was a match.

Buckles remained in jail Monday afternoon ahead of a court appearance scheduled in mid-April.

Buckles' attorney had not yet returned MPR News' request for comment.