Somali Writer Wanted for Rape of 10 Y/O

Somali writer added to 'most wanted' list in Minneapolis
Tuesday, October 16, 2007

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) A noted Somali writer, whose role in Somali literature has been compared to Shakespeare's place in English, has been added to Hennepin County's ``Ten Most Wanted'' list for the rape of a 10-year-old girl a decade ago, authorities said.



HENNEPIN COUNTY MOST WANTED - WHAT A CESSPOOL!

Mahamud A. Isse, 72, of Minneapolis, is wanted on a felony bench warrant for criminal sexual conduct stemming from the alleged rape.

A phone number for Isse was not listed. Defense attorney Richard Cohen said he hasn't seen or heard from Isse in a few months.

``I have no idea where he is,'' Cohen said.

According to the criminal complaint, the alleged victim told police she came to the United States from Somalia in 1995 and lived with a woman who acted as her mother in Minneapolis. She said Isse, whom she then called ``uncle,'' would bring her candy and treats when he visited her guardian.

The woman told police that when she was 10, Isse got into her bed and raped her, the complaint said. The woman, now in her 20s, moved to Washington state in 1997 and was back in Minneapolis for a visit in 2005 when she ran into Isse at the Somali Mall shopping center.

Isse gave her his phone number and said he wanted to see her again, the complaint said. She later called Isse and recorded their conversation, the complaint said. He allegedly admitted during the call that he had sex with her back when she was a child.

But when authorities interviewed Isse, the complaint said, he initially said he was joking during the phone call. But he ultimately admitted he fondled the girl's breasts and masturbated on her, the complaint alleged.

Isse has been free on bail, but he did not appear for a June 24 court date. He is believed to still be in the Minneapolis area, according to Hennepin County's Web site.

http://wcco.com/minnesotawire/MN--So...rces_news_html

[LaKooneshia]

Nigger Scribbler On The Lam Makes 10 Most Wanted List

For most Somalis, Mahamud Abdullahi Isse is a highly regarded poet and playwright, but for the law enforcement community in Hennepin County, he's a child molester and fugitive. He is now among the most-wanted people in the county -- and was recently spotted on a wedding video in Djibouti.

The 72-year-old, who's now the oldest person on Minnesota's Top 10 Most Wanted list, was charged last January with first-degree criminal sexual conduct. According to a complaint filed in Hennepin County District Court, the alleged incident took place in 1995. The victim, who is now 21, was staying at a relative's house where Isse frequently visited and fondled her, according to the complaint. She regarded him as an "uncle."

The victim, who moved to Washington state in 1997, was in Minneapolis in January last year for a visit when she ran into Isse at the Village Market, a large Somali mall in south Minneapolis. The complaint said that Isse gave her his phone number and said he wanted to see her again. She recorded their phone conversations, in which he allegedly admits having sex with her when she was 10.

Widely known as Sangub, he missed two court dates in June. A judge doubled his bail to $300,000.
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"I don't believe that he committed the crime he's accused," said Yusuf Yusuf, a filmmaker who worked with Isse on several plays. "But he should have defended himself in a court of law."

Isse's attorney, Richard J. Cohen, told Minnesota Monitor in June that he doesn't know the whereabouts of his client.

At the Somali mall, few were willing on Tuesday to speak about Isse's plight on the record. Almost everyone thought the charges against him were untrue and that the victim's motive was a personal vendetta.

But shopkeeper Amina, who didn't want her last name to be used, said that though she respects Isse's talents, she found him disrespectful to women. "He thinks he could get any woman he wants," she said. "He would come to the mall, flirt with young and old women alike. If you turn him down, he'd recite a poem against you."

Back in June, sources told Minnesota Monitor that Isse had sneaked out of the country, a possibility downplayed by Assistant Hennepin County Attorney Amy Sweasy, the prosecutor in charge of the case. That rumor is now even more potent in the Somali community. Many said they saw him in a June 29 video of a mass wedding ceremony in Djibouti, just north of Somalia.