An American man of Chinese descent in Isanti, Minnesota, was arrested and faces multiple criminal charges for allegedly kidnapping and sexually assaulting a female colleague last week.
According to a report from CBS TV on Wednesday, September 30, the suspect is a 41-year-old man named Pao Yang. The incident occurred on the evening of September 23 when the victim was leaving her workplace after work. Yang, masked and armed, approached her and forced her to go with him.
Subsequently, he took the woman to a nearby wooded area, threatening to shoot her if she screamed. After binding her to a tree and covering her eyes and mouth with tape, he stole her phone, wallet, and backpack before briefly leaving.
Approximately 15 minutes later, Yang returned, relocating her to a warehouse-like location an hour’s drive away, where he bound her again and committed the sexual assault.
Yang then took her to another location, forced her to shower, and put on a small brown dress.
Finally, Yang abandoned her near the Phalen Park Golf Course in St. Paul. The woman was held captive for 8 hours.
The woman walked to a nearby gas station for help and called the police. During the investigation, law enforcement discovered that the surveillance cameras at the victim’s workplace had been tampered with and the wires cut. Earlier footage showed an Acura SUV parked in the parking lot for an extended period.
Investigators identified the vehicle through other surveillance cameras and captured the suspect purchasing the brown dress at a Target store in Blaine.
Colleagues recognized the suspect as Pao Yang, a janitor at the company.
On September 25, the police found Yang’s SUV in St. Paul, matching the location of his phone, and subsequently arrested him at his home. Detectives found incriminating clothing, disposable gloves, masks, zip ties, two handguns, and an AR-15 rifle in his garage.
After his arrest, Yang admitted to working as a janitor for five companies, including the victim’s company, and visiting Target but claimed he was buying a “daughter’s shirt,” not a dress. When corrected that it was a dress, he requested to speak with a lawyer.
Yang appeared in court on September 28 for trial. He faces two counts of first-degree criminal sexual conduct, two counts of kidnapping, and two counts of assault. If convicted, he could face several decades of imprisonment. The prosecution requested a $2.5 million bail.