A 22-year-old Brooklyn Park man has surrendered to police after being charged with raping a 54-year-old woman in his city and then a 62-year-old woman in neighboring Brooklyn Center.
Brooklyn Park man charged with rapes 3 weeks apart turns himself in
The suspect, 22, said the two encounters over three weeks were consensual.
September 23, 2017 at 2:02AM
Clarence A. Cooper walked in to the Brooklyn Center Police Department on Wednesday, was arrested and jailed, said Police Cmdr. Richard Gabler.
Gabler said his department doesn't suspect him in any sex offenses other than the alleged attacks in late June and mid-July.
According to the criminal complaints:
A 54-year-old woman told Brooklyn Park police she met Cooper on June 24 at a church service in an office building. He spoke to her in the parking lot and "made odd comments suggesting that [she] was going to marry him and attempted to kiss [her]," the charges read.
The woman and other worshipers drove to a nearby restaurant, and Cooper followed, but the business was closed. The woman said she needed to use a bathroom, and Cooper offered that his home was nearby with family members there.
The woman went into Cooper's bathroom, but he pulled her out and onto a bedroom mattress, where he raped her. A hospital exam revealed injuries consistent with a rape. Police called Cooper, who contended the sex was consensual.
On July 16, the second victim told Brooklyn Center police that Cooper entered her apartment, dragged her to a couch and raped her. An examination revealed evidence of a sexual assault. As he contended in the earlier incident, Cooper told police the sexual encounter was consensual.
Paul Walsh • 612-673-4482
