(KNSI) – Two men await their fates after being convicted of raping a St. Cloud State University student in her dorm room on November 1st, 2024.
Twenty-one-year-old Dipak Phayal of Fremont, California, was convicted Friday by a Stearns County jury of 1st degree criminal sexual conduct, aiding and abetting 1st degree criminal sexual conduct, and 3rd degree criminal sexual conduct. Twenty-year-old Sujan Tamang of New York pleaded guilty to aiding and abetting 1st-degree criminal sexual conduct.
According to court records, between 2:00 and 3:00 a.m., the victim walked into the lobby, where two men she didn’t know were standing. They pushed her into her room, closed the door, and sexually assaulted her. Lab results linked DNA near a shoulder blade bruise to Tamang. Results from the rape exam found semen from Phayal.
University spokesman Zach Dwyer told KNSI News by email that the men were enrolled at St. Cloud State from late August to mid-December 2024 and did not return to the school.
Phayal was arrested in February in Fremont, California, and extradited to Stearns County. Tamang turned himself in to the New York Police Department.
Phayal’s sentencing is scheduled for May 11th, while Tamang’s is set for March 4th. In the meantime, both men remain held in the Stearns County Jail.
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