St. Paul teen lured 3 women to alley and raped them during first-time meet-ups, charges say

A teenager is charged with luring three women to a dark alley near his St. Paul home for first-time meet-ups and raping them.

Rakai Eugene Davis, 18, stands charged in Ramsey County District Court with two counts of first-degree criminal sexual conduct in connection with the first of the assaults back in May 2023, when he was 16. Davis was initially charged as a juvenile before his case was moved Wednesday to adult court.

Davis remains jailed in lieu of $250,000 bail ahead of a court hearing on July 21. A message was left Friday with his attorney seeking a response to the allegations.

Davis is also facing the same count on allegations from Nov. 3 and Dec. 9, with all three occurring within steps of his East Side home in the 1300 block of White Bear Avenue.

Davis hit his first victim in the head with a gun, and carried out the second attack at knifepoint, the charges read.

According to the charges:

On May 27, 2023, a woman in her late 20s told police she was raped by someone she had just met on a dating app. As they walked to an alley in the 1700 block of Cottage Avenue, the 16-year-old Davis started groping her, then slid a knife across her neck as he walked behind her.

The woman said she was able to keep the condom after the assault was over and turned it in as evidence.

“I didn’t know if he was going to kill me,” the woman is quoted as telling a nurse afterward. “But he let me go.”

Around 11:30 p.m. on Nov. 3, Davis raped a woman in a garage along the alley and struck her in the head with a handgun. She was on the phone to 911 as she fled her attacker. She told police that Davis got her phone number from a dating website and called her to arrange getting together.

At one point during the assault, the woman “grabbed Davis’ hands and pushed his palms against one of the vehicles to get Davis’ fingerprints,” the criminal complaint read. Police went in the garage and found the fresh handprints on the vehicle.

The third attack occurred behind a garage about 9:30 p.m. on Dec. 9, the woman told police. She said she had been communicating with Davis by phone until she met him for the first time and was raped.

Police searched his home on Dec. 26 and seized a Glock handgun. He declined to speak with police and was arrested.