A Milwaukee man is facing kidnapping, battery and sexual assault charges after prosecutors say he pulled an intoxicated woman into his van near North 25th Street and Wisconsin Avenue following a concert on Oct. 10. Emeka Mordi, 39, is currently out of jail on a $200,000 bond while the case moves through court.
According to WISN, the woman had gotten separated from her friends after leaving the concert venue when surveillance footage captured a white van pulling alongside her. The footage reportedly shows a person getting out of the van, putting their arms around the woman, and escorting her inside. Police later identified Mordi as the registered owner of that van, and the criminal complaint said the victim also identified him in a lineup.
The woman told investigators she remembered an unknown male on top of her and said the man struck her in the face when she tried to fend him off, causing her to lose consciousness. She woke up near her home without her underwear and with a sock on incorrectly, according to the complaint cited by the station.
Attorney Points to Presumption of Innocence
Mordi's attorney, Christopher Hartley, told the station that his client is presumed innocent unless proven guilty by lawful evidence and beyond a reasonable doubt. No trial date, plea or other case developments beyond the bond amount have been reported.
Samantha Collier, founder and executive director of the Milwaukee-based survivor-support nonprofit TeamTeal365, pointed to this case alongside another one as evidence that investigators have been working through multiple serious sexual assault reports in the city in recent weeks. Collier referenced a separate case reported in late September near Brady Street. She has run TeamTeal365 since 2009 and created Paint the City Teal Day in 2015 to mark Sexual Assault Awareness Month, according to WUWM.
Other Recent Brady Street-Area Cases
The Brady Street case Collier referenced involved Felipe Lopez-Simon, 23, who was charged on Oct. 2 in connection with kidnapping a woman from the area and attempting to sexually assault her. WTMJ reported that surveillance footage allegedly showed Lopez-Simon finding the woman on a porch near Rochambu Coffee Shop and walking her toward his truck; she escaped and suffered facial pain, a chipped tooth and multiple abrasions. He faces sexual assault, battery and strangulation charges and could face around 50 years in prison if convicted, per that report.
A separate incident near Brady Street unfolded on Sept. 27, when a 24-year-old woman was reportedly forced into a dark truck and driven to a Pick 'n Save parking lot near North Broadway and East Ogden, where she was assaulted before escaping. WISN reported that a 23-year-old man was taken into custody in that case, with charges to be reviewed by the Milwaukee County District Attorney's Office.
In another Milwaukee-area case, a judge denied a motion from Angelo Liberto to dismiss three felony charges tied to allegations that he kidnapped a woman and planned to sexually assault her, according to GM Today. If convicted, Liberto faces up to 101 years in prison in Milwaukee County and an additional six years in Washington County.
Advocate Urges Survivors to Seek Support
Collier said intoxication does not give another person the ability to assault someone, and she encouraged survivors to seek support, noting that resources are available through organizations like TeamTeal365. Her comments came as Milwaukee police continue investigating the Oct. 10 case alongside the other recent reports in the area.
