Convicted sex offender from Kenya avoids deportation, lands state job

A Kenyan national convicted of sexually assaulting a sleeping woman in Minnesota wasn’t deported after his prison sentence — he was promoted.

Wilson Tindi holds a director position at the Minnesota Department of Education, where he audits taxpayer spending and oversees internal accountability.

Court records show Tindi was convicted in 2016 of fourth-degree criminal sexual conduct after breaking into a woman’s home and assaulting her in bed where she slept. He pleaded guilty to the sex assault charge in exchange for prosecutors dropping a first-degree burglary charge.

Tindi was sentenced to two years in prison and ordered to register as a predatory offender. His sentence was stayed for five years, but he was also sentenced to 210 days in the workhouse, records show.

However, despite the felony conviction and offender status, Tindi serves as Director of Internal Audit and Advisory Services at MDE, according to public records and his LinkedIn profile.

After Alpha News reached out to MDE for comment, Tindi’s bio was removed from the agency’s website.

Former prosecutor calls Tindi ‘dangerous’

A former prosecutor with direct knowledge of Tindi’s case told Alpha News they were disturbed to learn he now holds a leadership role in state government.

“I don’t know how he would have passed a background check,” the attorney said. “He’s a felon and a registered sex offender—how is he employed?”

The attorney said that in addition to the 2016 conviction, Tindi was also accused of a similar crime in 2012, as court documents state. Although the case was never charged, prosecutors filed a Spreigl notice—a legal move to introduce evidence of prior misconduct—citing the 2012 allegation as evidence of a disturbing pattern.

“He is dangerous,” the attorney said. “He has no business being paid out of our taxpayer dollars and should be back with ICE.”

Tindi’s ICE detention and federal court challenge

Records show Tindi was taken into ICE custody in August 2016 as the U.S. government sought to deport him to his native Kenya.

In 2016, an immigration judge ordered his removal based on the felony sex crime conviction. The decision was later upheld by the Board of Immigration Appeals but stayed by an appeals court.

Tindi filed a federal habeas corpus petition, arguing that his detention had become unconstitutional because it dragged on too long without actual deportation.

A federal judge agreed, writing that Tindi’s continued detention no longer “serve[d] the purpose of preventing deportable criminal aliens from fleeing prior to or during their removal proceedings.”

After 18 months in ICE custody, Tindi was ordered released in February 2018.

Tindi tries to vacate plea over immigration fallout

In May, Tindi filed a petition for post-conviction relief, asking a Hennepin County judge to vacate his guilty plea. He claims his defense attorney failed to properly warn him that the conviction would have devastating consequences for his immigration status. He says he is a lawful permanent resident.

In the petition, Tindi says he would never have pleaded guilty if he had known it would make him permanently inadmissible under federal law—effectively banning him from ever reentering the U.S. if he left.

But then in June, Tindi filed a second motion, this time asking the court to withdraw his request to overturn the conviction, admitting the odds of success were slim under current state law. He reserved the right to try again in the future.

Adding to the list of legal troubles is Tindi’s recent DWI arrest.

Neither MDE nor Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty’s returned requests for comment.

Jenna Gloeb

Jenna Gloeb is an Edward R. Murrow Award-winning journalist, media producer, public speaker, and screenwriter. Most recently, she worked as a reporter and on-air host for CCX Media. Jenna is a Minnesota native and resides in the Twin Cities with her husband, son, daughter, and two dogs.