An Aurora man who grabbed an 11-year-old girl off the street and took her to a nearby apartment will spend 15 years in state prison, closing a chilling case that started when the child managed to escape and ask a stranger for help.
Shukurani Mulenda was sentenced Tuesday in Arapahoe County court to 15 years in the Colorado Department of Corrections after pleading guilty in connection with the May 2024 kidnapping and sexual assault of the girl. The case began when the child fled the apartment, found someone who helped her call 911, and officers traced the report back to a home in Aurora.
According to 9News, Mulenda, 33, pleaded guilty to second-degree kidnapping, in which the person kidnapped was a victim of a sexual offense, and was ordered to serve 15 years in state prison. The Colorado Judicial Branch docket search lists his sentencing hearing as taking placeon Tuesday in Arapahoe County.
As reported by The Denver Gazette, the girl told police she was walking to a bus stop on May 10, 2024, when a man approached her, grabbed her arm, and forced her into a nearby apartment at 1442 Macon Street. Surveillance video from a nearby business reportedly showed him escorting the child into the unit, and she later escaped and reached someone who helped her call 911.
An arrest affidavit, summarized in reporting by 9News, states that Mulenda blocked a bedroom door with a dumbbell and touched the child inappropriately; those details formed part of the factual basis for his plea. Officers arrested Mulenda at his Aurora home after responding to the 911 call.
What The Charges Mean
Under Colorado law, second-degree kidnapping that involves a sexual offense is a class 2 felony that carries a sentencing range of roughly 8 to 24 years in prison, and the sexual-offense component functions as an enhancement on top of the kidnapping charge. That range helps explain why judges can hand down lengthy terms when kidnapping and sexual abuse occur together, and Mulenda’s plea meant prosecutors did not have to present those details to a jury at trial.
Background And Community Notes
Court records show Mulenda previously had a 2020 conviction for third-degree sexual assault in Adams County. Reporting indicates a Colorado Bureau of Investigation spokesman told journalists that the earlier conviction was a misdemeanor, so it did not require him to register as a sex offender on the state registry. Investigators told local outlets they are looking into whether there could be additional victims and asked anyone with information to contact Aurora police.
