Alleged serial rapist makes 1st court appearance for 2 Minneapolis cases
Jory Wiebrand, 34, of Ham Lake, Minnesota is charged with criminal sexual conduct and burglary in connection with a sexual assault in Minneapolis in 2019. (Hennepin County Jail / FOX 9)
MINNEAPOLIS (FOX 9) - An alleged serial rapist charged in two separate, violent attacks in Minneapolis’ Marcy-Holmes neighborhood last summer made his first court appearance Tuesday afternoon.
Authorities arrested Jory Wiebrand, 34, of Ham Lake Friday in Anoka County. He was formally charged Monday with first-degree burglary and criminal predatory conduct in a June 9, 2019 break-in and with first-degree criminal sexual assault and first-degree burglary in an Aug. 7 sexual assault. The incidents occurred just blocks from each other on 4th and 5th Street Southeast.
Prosecutors contend they have DNA evidence connecting Wiebrand to the scenes of both crimes.
According to the charges, Wiebrand is also suspected in at least nine other sexual assaults, assaults and burglaries that occurred between 2013 and 2020 in Anoka County and near the University of Minnesota campus in Minneapolis.
Wiebrand briefly appeared in Hennepin County district court Tuesday. He was granted a public defender to represent him in what is expected to be a handful of sexual assault and burglary cases moving forward. No bail arguments were made, so his bail remains set at $2 million in one case and $1 million in the other.
He will make his next court appearance in those two cases on May 20. In the meantime, he will have to make initial appearances on any new charges that come up before then.
Hennepin County prosecutors said Monday additional charges could come late this week.