Mohamed Bakari Shei: Plea Deal, Sentence, and Legislative Response

Mohamed Bakari Shei is a Rochester, Minnesota man who was convicted of first-degree criminal sexual conduct involving two young girls and sentenced in January 2023 to 180 days in the Olmsted County jail, 200 hours of community service, and up to 30 years of supervised probation, with no prison time. The sentence, handed down by District Judge Jacob Allen under a plea agreement that included a stay of adjudication, was an extraordinary downward departure from Minnesota’s presumptive 144-month prison term for the offense and drew sustained public criticism.

What He Was Accused Of

Court documents describe two juvenile victims assaulted at a Rochester residence. The first, about nine years old at the time, told a Rochester police investigator in April 2020 that Shei had raped her repeatedly beginning on Mother’s Day 2018, alleging eight or more assaults over roughly a year and describing how Shei coerced her with offers of money for a school book fair and with toys.¹ The second victim, then four or five years old, reported sexual assaults to police in June 2021.²

How the Case Reached Adult Court

Shei was first charged in juvenile court in 2019, when he was 15 and 16. Pandemic-related court shutdowns pushed the case so far back that prosecutors faced the expiration of their authority to prosecute him as a juvenile. The original charges were dismissed and refiled with the aim of certifying him for adult prosecution.²

The plea deal that followed was shaped by that history. In exchange for Shei agreeing not to challenge his certification to adult court, prosecutors offered terms that Olmsted County Senior Attorney Thomas Gort said allowed for continued prosecution of the case.² Prosecutors also cited the victims’ reluctance to testify at trial as a factor.³

The Plea and the Sentence

Shei originally faced three felony counts of first-degree criminal sexual conduct across two cases.⁴ In December 2022 he entered an Alford plea to one count, acknowledging that the evidence would likely lead a jury to convict him without formally admitting guilt. Two of the three felony charges were dismissed.²

The core of the agreement was a stay of adjudication. If Shei completes up to 30 years of probation successfully, the remaining charge will be dismissed and removed from his criminal record.² The deal stipulated no prison time, and Shei was required to register as a predatory offender.⁴

At the January 30, 2023 sentencing, Judge Allen imposed 180 days in the Olmsted County jail (reduced to a maximum of 116 days with credit for good behavior), 30 years of supervised probation, 200 hours of community work service, and completion of a sex offender treatment program.² Shei was allowed to serve the jail time through work release or the Sentence to Serve community service program.⁵

Why the Sentence Fell So Far Below Guidelines

Under Minnesota Statute 609.342, first-degree criminal sexual conduct carries a statutory maximum of 30 years in prison and a presumptive executed sentence of 144 months.⁶ Even an offender with no criminal history faces that 144-month presumptive prison term under the state’s sex offense sentencing grid.⁷ Anything else counts as a departure.

The statute does allow a court to stay the sentence in certain first-degree cases if it finds the stay is in the best interest of the complainant or family unit and a professional assessment concludes the offender can respond to treatment.⁶ A Minnesota legislative auditor’s report has separately noted that district judges have used stays of adjudication with some juvenile offenders to defer registration requirements, a practice the report identified as a source of inconsistency.⁸

The County Attorney’s Defense of the Deal

Olmsted County Attorney Mark Ostrem acknowledged social media and email backlash over the outcome and said much of the criticism came from a “place of ignorance” about the legal complexities. He described some public comments as “veiled — and sometimes not-so-veiled — threats” against judges, prosecutors, and the convicted, calling them potential public safety issues.³

Ostrem defended the plea by pointing to the COVID-19 court delays that had nearly ended the prosecution outright, legal considerations around juvenile brain development that complicated adult certification, and the victims’ lack of enthusiasm about a trial. He said his office prioritizes rehabilitation over lengthy prison terms for first-time, nonviolent sex offenders, reasoning that local supervision and treatment allow closer monitoring over a longer period than a prison sentence followed by release.³

What Lawmakers Have Proposed Since

A bill introduced during Minnesota’s 2025–2026 legislative session, HF 7, would require anyone who receives a stay of adjudication for criminal sexual conduct offenses to register as a predatory offender. Courts could waive registration only for juvenile offenders, and only on a finding of “good cause” stated on the record. The same bill would require county attorneys to publicly report details about felony charge dismissals, including the reason for each and whether the victim supported it, and would direct the Minnesota Sentencing Guidelines Commission to maintain a publicly searchable database of sentences, including stayed sentences and guideline departures.⁹

The Sentencing Guidelines Commission reported in 2025 that the gap between actual sentences and presumptive prison rates had “never been higher than in 2023,” and that a comprehensive review of the guidelines funded by the 2023 legislature was underway.¹⁰

1
Yahoo News. Rochester Man Charged With Sex Assault
2
Post-Bulletin. Rochester Man Given 180 Days in Jail for Raping Juvenile Females
3
Post-Bulletin. Olmsted County Attorney Explains How His Office Handles Sex Crime Cases
4
Yahoo News. No Prison Time in Plea Deal
5
KAAL TV. Rochester Man Pleads Guilty to Sexually Abusing Children
6
Minnesota Office of the Revisor of Statutes. Minnesota Statutes Section 609.342
7
Minnesota Sentencing Guidelines Commission. Sex Offender Sentencing Grid
8
Minnesota Office of the Legislative Auditor. Program Evaluation Report – Section on Criminal Sexual Conduct
9
Minnesota Office of the Revisor of Statutes. HF 7, 94th Legislative Session
10
Minnesota Sentencing Guidelines Commission. 2025 Report to the Legislature