After years of waiting for justice, a conclusion has arrived in a Minneapolis cold case. Mohamud Hillow Bulle, age 36, received a sentence of 235 months on Wednesday for crimes including two counts of first-degree criminal sexual conduct and one count of kidnapping. The Hennepin County Attorney's Office had indeed pushed to separately sentence Bulle to 187 months for sexual conduct and add on 48 months for the kidnapping charge, amounting to a total sentence extensively longer than typically seen in such cases. This sentencing follows his October conviction and marks a significant moment for the Sexual Assault Kit Initiative (SAKI) team's efforts within the county.
According to a statement from Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty, "Our thoughts are with the victim and her loved ones today, as Mr. Bulle is finally being held accountable for this terrible crime." Moriarty also expressed regret over the time taken to reach this outcome, vowing that under her watch, survivors will receive the support they deserve.
The resolution of this case is the fruit of joint efforts between the Hennepin County Attorney’s Office, the Bureau of Criminal Apprehension (BCA), and the Minneapolis Police Department. These agencies worked in tandem to revive and solve the long-dormant case. It was the BCA's forensic scientists and the SAKI team's investigation and testing that eventually named Bulle as a suspect earlier this year. The force behind this push stems from SAKI's initiative to test all backlogged sexual assault kits from the Minneapolis Police Department, a project that has now seen all of its kits reviewed.
Justice has not only spoken through a sentence, but it has also been quantified. Mr. Bulle leaves the court with 248 days of credit for time already served, signaling a judicial system seeking to accurately account for time owed to society by those who have wronged it. The case, filed under number 27-CR-25-5955, serves as a reminder that the path towards justice, albeit sometimes slow, can ultimately lead to holding accountable those who have long evaded the consequences of their actions.
