Man arrested in California in connection to alleged St. Cloud State dorm rape

The St. Cloud Police Department says one of the two suspects charged in an alleged dorm room rape at St. Cloud State University is now in custody.

A press release says that Fremont Police took 20-year-old Dipak Phayal into custody without incident in Fremont, California, on Thursday.

He is being held there until he is extradited to Stearns County. Phuyal is charged with counts of aiding and abetting first-degree criminal sexual contact and first- and third-degree criminal sexual contact.

The other suspect, Sujan Tamang, 19, has not been found.

The alleged rape took place on Nov. 1, 2024. As previously reported, the suspects are accused of following the victim into her dorm room during overnight hours and then closing the door, according to the criminal complaint.

In the room, one restrained her while the other kissed and touched her despite pleas for them to stop.

At one point, one of the men left the room while the other raped the victim. She forced him off of her, and the other man came back inside the room. In an interview with police, the victim said she believed the other man was waiting outside the door. The pair finally left after the victim pleaded for them to leave, court documents say.

When questioned, Phayal and Tamang gave inconsistent accounts of the events of that night, the complaint says.

DNA samples taken during a sexual assault examination found matches with Phayal’s genetic material around the victim’s genitals; a DNA profile that matched with Tamang was found on the victim’s shoulder, court documents allege.

Tamang faces two counts of aiding and abetting first-degree criminal sexual conduct and one count of aiding and abetting fourth-degree criminal sexual conduct.