A bail fund touted by vice presidential candidate Kamala Harris contributed to the release of a man accused of raping an 8-year-old girl, according to jail records.
Timothy Wayne Columbus, 36, faces up to 30 years in prison for sexually assaulting an 8-year-old girl in 2015, court records show.
He was released from a Minneapolis jail on $75,000 bail in early July, according to the Daily Caller, and shortly thereafter signed a document saying that all refunded bill money should be directed to the Minnesota Freedom Fund.
This means that the group helped bail him out.
The horrific nature of Columbus’s crimes should have disqualified him from consideration, both from the bail fund and from the court.
“Victim stated ‘Tim’ laid her on the couch and held her down as he unbuckled his pants and pulled down her pants. Victim stated he then ‘put his thing inside me,’” Minnesota prosecutors said in a statement. “Victim stated ‘Tim’ told her not to tell anyone and continued to penetrate her.”
Harris and several other high-profile celebrities and Democratic politicians have endorsed the Minnesota Freedom Fund.
If you’re able to, chip in now to the @MNFreedomFund to help post bail for those protesting on the ground in Minnesota. https://t.co/t8LXowKIbw
— Kamala Harris (@KamalaHarris) June 1, 2020
Greg Lewin, the interim executive director of MFF, admitted that the group doesn’t look closely at the records of the individuals they’re bailing out.
“I often don’t even look at a charge when I bail someone out,” Lewin said, according to KMSP.
“The last time we were down there, the clerk said, ‘We hate it when you bail out these sex offenders.’ That is what they said,” continued Lewin
The MFF also bailed out an alleged murderer and a previously convicted rapist, according to Fox 9.
