Man convicted in 2019 rape at Whitemarsh Island apartment complex
CHATHAM COUNTY, Ga. (WSAV) — A man has been convicted and is facing life without parole for the rape of a college student in 2019, officials announced Monday.
According to the Chatham County Police Department (CCPD), on June 1, 2019, a woman was sleeping in her Colonial Grand apartment when a stranger broke in and woke her up by sexually assaulting her.
The victim testified that she had never met the assailant, Kasey Levi Lyons Dyak, before the assault. He reportedly entered her apartment by cutting the screen door while she was sleeping, the Chatham County District Attorney's (DA) Office said.
Dyak had thrown her phone into a nearby marsh, so she was not able to call 911 but did use Facebook Messenger to contact friends to call for her after the assault. She was taken to a local hospital for evaluation and a rape kit after help arrive, officials said.
Dyak was identified as the suspect in 2023 after he was being investigated for another sexual assault in Florida where his DNA was uploaded from the Florida investigation into CODIS, (Combined DNA Index System). It matched DNA taken from the Chatham County victim taken in 2019.
Officials found that Dyak was in town working at a local carnival being held approximately 2 miles from her Whitemarsh Island apartment.
He was arrested and charged with first-degree burglary, false imprisonment, rape and aggravated sodomy in 2023.
DA Jones wanted to highlight the bravery of the survivor who waited six years for justice and 'who with poise and grace testified emotionally during the trial facing her attacker in court.'
Dyak will be sentenced at a later date.
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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