Red Lake rapist sentenced to nearly 20 years in prison

A Red Lake man was sentenced Tuesday to nearly 20 years in federal prison for raping a woman in 2020.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office says John Paul Sayers saw a woman walking on the road on Nov. 7, 2020, and offered to give her a ride. However, he then took her to a camper where he strangled and raped her. The woman, who lost consciousness, was eventually able to leave the camper and began walking back to the town located nearly 20 miles away, attorneys say.

As part of a guilty plea made in April, the 30-year-old also admitted to having unlawful sexual contact with another person.

He was sentenced to 239 months behind bars on Tuesday.

Sayers will also serve 10 years of supervised release for the aggravated sexual assault charge, attorneys add.