St. Cloud Man Pleads Guilty to Raping Teen in High School Bathroom

(KNSI) — A St. Cloud man has pleaded guilty to raping a teenager in a bathroom at Apollo High School in 2019.

According to the criminal complaint, the girl was just 15 years old at the time when she reported to a therapist she was assaulted by Robert Shannon Epps Jr., then 18, in December of 2019 at an Apollo High School basketball game. The girl says sometime during the game; she went to the bathroom and heard someone come in shortly after she did, and the person shook her stall door. Investigators say as the girl left the stall, Epps grabbed her by her sweatshirt, threw her against the stall, pulled out a pocket knife, and threatened to cut her. The girl says she tried to resist but was overpowered.

She says the two went to the same school, and he had been harassing her. The girl says she thinks Epps wanted to date her, but she rejected him.

Epps was interviewed in May 2020 and denied sexually assaulting the girl. He said the two met in the bathroom and kissed.

He was charged with first-degree criminal sexual conduct and was supposed to go on trial starting Monday, but entered a guilty plea. As part of the plea deal, Epps will have to register as a predatory offender for the rest of his life, adhere to conditional release terms, and pay restitution on top of serving four years in prison.

Sentencing is set for May 21st.

___