A man awaiting trial on accusations that he raped a woman in downtown St. Paul is now charged in another sexual assault, this one at knifepoint.

Both cases occurred in the same area near the Minnesota History Center “and involved the same plan or scheme,” according to a criminal complaint filed by the Ramsey County attorney’s office Wednesday against Maurice Londell McClendon, 28. “The offender approached an unknown woman and offered to smoke dope with her” and “proceeded to sexually assault the woman.”

McClendon, who has to register as a predatory offender because he was convicted of first-degree criminal sexual conduct as a juvenile, pleaded not guilty to the charges of first- and third-degree criminal sexual conduct filed against him in December.

“He adamantly denies” the accusations, said Jeremy Plesha, McClendon’s attorney in the first case. “That’s consistent with his interview with law enforcement and consistent with the evidence and we’re awaiting our day at trial.” Plesha said he’s not aware of the allegations in the case filed on Wednesday.

McClendon is also being investigated in another sexual assault from Sept. 26 behind Union Gospel Mission. The Ramsey County attorney’s office is reviewing the case for potential charges.

The complaint filed Wednesday, which charges McClendon with first-degree criminal sexual conduct while armed with a dangerous weapon, includes the following information:

On May 24, 2018, about 7 p.m., police responded to the St. Joseph’s Hospital emergency room. A woman said she had been hanging out when a male approached who wanted to smoke drugs. They walked to an area near the history museum.

The man held her at knifepoint and raped her, then told her to wait for 20 minutes and not look at him.

“She looked back and made eye contact with the suspect,” the complaint said. “He then came back and forced intercourse on her again as punishment for looking at him.”

DNA from a sexual assault exam was later found to be a match to McClendon.

McClendon, who has been jailed since December, was shown a photo of the woman by an investigator on Saturday and he said he had never seen her before.

He said “he has had ‘sex for drug’ transactions with women” in the area near the history center and, when asked for more details, didn’t talk to police further, the complaint said.

In the other case that McClendon is charged in, police responded to the Minnesota History Center on Aug. 15 at 4 p.m. after a 30-year-old woman showed up at a loading dock. She was bleeding from the mouth and seeking help. The woman was brought to the hospital and cried out in pain while talking to officers. She received stitches for her cut lip.

She told officers that a man approached and asked if she wanted to go smoke marijuana. She said she was unaware of his name, but knew him from around the Higher Ground shelter in downtown St. Paul.

The woman said there was no talk of them having sex, but when she sat in the shade of a utility shed, she looked up and saw him masturbating in front of her. She “didn’t like that and pushed the man away,” the complaint said. The man then punched her in the face, which caused her to land face down in the grass. He pulled down her pants and raped her.

Surveillance video showed a man running from behind the shed. In another camera angle, the woman could be seen walking from behind the shed and holding her mouth; she “appeared frantic as she looked for help,” the complaint said.

A sergeant who viewed a photo from the video identified the man as McClendon and the woman picked out McClendon from a photo lineup, the complaint said.

Police arrested McClendon on Dec. 3. He told police “he hung out near Higher Ground from time to time,” according to the complaint. “He said he went down there to buy marijuana and flirt with women. He said he would occasionally meet women and give them money in exchange for sex. He explained that he would go to a secluded area with the women, show them money, and make sure they did a ‘good job’ before paying them.”