Teen speaks out after rare rape case dismissal

It took a Twin Cities teenage girl more than two years to report that an adult relative raped her.

In the felony trial that ensued, she testified for hours — only to see the case thrown out on a rare technicality. She wasn't too surprised.

"The system has failed us women," she said in an interview Friday. "That's what you expect."

The Star Tribune does not identify sexual assault victims without their consent. Now 17, court documents wrongly stated she was 14 at the time of the rape; she was 13. The man was 32 years old and temporarily living at her family's house.

Most rapes go unreported. Those that are seldom go to trial. Out of every 1,000 instances of rape, 13 are referred to a prosecutor and seven will result in a conviction, according to crime data analysis by RAINN, the Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network.

In seeing her case make it to a jury trial, this teenager beat those odds and obstacles. But when it was dismissed earlier this month by Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty after the trial prosecutor admitted to lying to the judge, the odds broke against this 17-year-old: lawyers and legal experts say such dismissals almost never happen.

She said the defendant, Marco Tulio Rivera Enamorado, was staying at her family's house when, one day in June 2019 when her parents and siblings were gone, he attacked and raped her in her bedroom.

"Sometimes our homes are the most dangerous places," she said. "We can't avoid trauma ... It's just there creeping at us any chance it can get."

It was September 2021 when she reported the rape. Charges were filed in March 2022, and Rivera Enamorado's trial started the first week of this year.

While the teenager was on the stand testifying, a victim witness advocate seated next to her mother slipped a note to prosecutor Catherine McEnroe. Judge Peter Cahill questioned its contents, concerned it could violate his order to sequester witnesses.

The note allegedly said "venue?" — a reminder to the prosecutor to establish for the record that the crime occurred in Hennepin County. McEnroe instead told Cahill it was a reminder to pronounce a name correctly. Then she had the advocate forge the note to conform to the lie, according to Moriarty, who said the note was "inconsequential."

Having taken office days earlier, Moriarty decided in consultation with her new team to dismiss the case. Rivera Enamorado was released from custody. His first-degree criminal sexual conduct charge was dropped. He skipped a recent court date, and his whereabouts are unknown.

McEnroe is on administrative leave pending an ongoing investigation. She had 90 cases that are being handled and reviewed by her supervisor, according to the attorney's office.

Moriarty said dismissing the case was a last resort, but she stands by the decision that jolted the Twin Cities legal community. Some attorneys and legal experts have steered away from open criticism, calling it an unusual situation with no playbook. Others have been critical.

A juror seated for the trial penned a letter to the editor, saying the unpunished rape of a teen "weighs extremely heavily in the public interest." He said the choice to dismiss means either an innocent defendant is not acquitted, or a guilty defendant goes free.

Public defender Kellen Dotson, who represented Rivera Enamorado, said he could've joined Moriarty in declaring a mistrial. But he felt it wasn't in the best interests of his client.

Dotson said that once the immediate shock wore off, he "immediately started calling around, getting guidance from older attorneys in state and out of state," including his law professor father. None recalled similar circumstances, he said.

Moriarty, a former public defender and law professor, said she had never before encountered a prosecutor lying so brazenly. She and staff considered a request for a continuance that would have allowed another prosecutor to get up to speed on the case. But it would likely be a weeks-long wait for a transcript of the trial up to that point, she said.

Dan Mabley is a former long-serving Hennepin County Judge who was deputy county attorney under Moriarty's predecessor, Mike Freeman. He said McEnroe could have been disciplined but allowed to keep prosecuting the case, "because her behavior only affected her reputation, not the fairness of the trial."

Former Ramsey County Attorney Susan Gaertner said she might have made another choice, but was reluctant to take issue with the one that was made. "I think it's really hard to criticize or applaud the decision when we're not in her position to have to make that decision," she said.

Cynthia Alkon, a Texas A&M law professor, said it's admirable for a new county attorney to take such a strong stance in an unusual situation.

"If you're in a period of change of leadership it's important that the attorneys within the office understand what is and is not acceptable," she said. "In this community that's still healing from the George Floyd murder, it's important to make it clear that this office will not lie."

Alkon said the downsides are also big. The dismissal clearly hurts the victim, showing how the legal system can cause pain. And if people don't trust prosecutors, she said, victims will be less likely to come forward in the future.

Moriarty agreed that the dismissal could have a chilling effect on victims. She said she believes it's an isolated incident, not reflective of an office obligated to uphold the highest standards of ethical behavior.

"Because we don't want to let down victims like this ever again," she said.

The victim in this case hid what happened to her for years. If she'd kept silent, she said, "maybe lives wouldn't be so ruined now."

"My parents ... have to wake up with that thought, or sometimes they can't sleep with that thought, like, my daughter was abused in our own home," she said. "Maybe even the prosecutor, you know, things would have been good for her."

She hears people tell her that none of this is her fault.

"But I don't believe that and that's worse, knowing that it's not your fault, but you just can't believe it."