Who is Francois Momulu Khalil? Rape victims who drink willingly not 'mentally incapacitated', rules Minnesota SC
MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA: The Minnesota Supreme Court has issued a controversial ruling. A person who is sexually assaulted while intoxicated does not fit the designation for a more serious charge if he or she consumed the alcohol or drugs voluntarily, Justice Paul Thissen said on Wednesday, March 24.
In the reportedly unanimous decision written by Justice Thissen, the state Supreme Court said the lower court's definition of mentally incapacitated in this case "unreasonably strains and stretches the plain text of the statute" because the victim was drunk before they met their attacker. To meet the definition, the alcohol must be administered to the person under its influence without that person's agreement, the high court ruled.
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Who is Francois Momulu Khalil?
The ruling, as per reports, stemmed from the case of Khalil, a Minneapolis man who was convicted of third-degree criminal sexual misconduct because the victim was drunk and considered by the jury to be mentally incapacitated.
As per Hennepin County prosecutors, on May 13, 2017, Khalil encountered a woman outside a Dinkytown bar who’d just consumed five shots of vodka and a prescription narcotic. Khalil invited her and a friend to a party. As per court documents, Khalil and two other men drove them to a house in Minneapolis, where there was no party. The woman, identified only by her initials “J.S.”, testified that she blacked out on the couch and later woke up to find Khalil raping her.
J.S., as per court documents, told Khalil, “No, I don’t want to.” Khalil replied, “But you’re so hot and you turn me on.” J.S. then lost consciousness again. At some point in the middle of the night, her friend, identified with the initials “S.L.” testified that she attempted to awaken J.S. so they could leave the house but that she was unable to awaken her.
At approximately 8 a.m., J.S. woke up, saw her shorts around her ankles, and immediately recalled the events of the evening. The two called for a ride and left the house. During the ride, J.S. told S.L. that she had been raped. Thereafter, J.S. reported the incident to the police. During his police interview, Khalil stated that he did not remember J.S. and never had sex with her.
A jury in Hennepin County convicted Khalil of third-degree criminal sexual conduct involving a victim who was impaired in 2019. But on Wednesday, the Minnesota Supreme Court overturned his conviction with its ruling.
Khalil’s attorney Will Walker said the justices agreed with his contention that the trial judge gave incorrect instructions to the jury. “They adopted our arguments. They adopted the opinion of the 30-page dissent from the Court of Appeals, and my arguments from the trial court and came out with the correct ruling. And we’re very, very pleased about that,” Walker said.
The 24-year-old is currently serving a five-year sentence at the Faribault state prison. But as per his attorney, that might change soon and he might be released.
Worries about the ruling
Democratic state Rep. Kelly Moller said that there is an urgent need to update the state's criminal sexual conduct statute, including by closing what she calls the intoxication loophole. She has introduced a bill to amend the statute. "Victims who are intoxicated to the degree that they are unable to give consent are entitled to justice. Our laws must clearly reflect that understanding, and today's Supreme Court ruling highlights the urgency lawmakers have to close this and other loopholes throughout our CSC law," Moller said.
"Prosecutors, survivors, and advocates have identified the problem and the CSC Working Group did incredibly tough work to identify the solutions. Minnesotans who experience unthinkable trauma deserve to see the Legislature take action on this immediately," she said further.
Abby Honold, a sexual assault survivor, and advocate says this intoxication loophole has been a problem for years. She says it’s a roadblock for survivors seeking to press charges who have an otherwise solid case.