Red Lake Man Sentenced to 239 Months in Prison for Rape

ST. PAUL, Minn. – A Red Lake man was sentenced to 239 months in prison followed by 10 years of supervised release for aggravated sexual assault, announced United States Attorney Andrew M. Luger. 

According to court documents, on November 7, 2020, Paul John Sayers, 30, stopped his truck beside Victim A who was walking on the road. Sayers offered Victim A a ride but instead of taking Victim A to her destination, Sayers drove her to a camper located on a property near a Hemp shop where Sayers worked. When Victim A resisted Sayers’s sexual advances, he hit and strangled Victim A until she passed out. Sayers then raped Victim A.  Victim A left the camper after the rape and began walking 20 miles back into town. As part of his guilty plea, Sayers also admitted to unlawful sexual contact with another person.

Sayers pleaded guilty on April 20, 2022, to one count of aggravated sexual assault. He was sentenced yesterday in U.S. District Court by Judge Eric C. Tostrud.

This case was the result of an investigation conducted by the FBI, the Red Lake Tribal Police Department, and the Bureau of Criminal Apprehension.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Emily Polachek prosecuted the case.

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