CHATHAM COUNTY, Ga. () — A man has been found guilty and sentenced to life imprisonment without the possibility of parole for the 2019 rape of a college student, authorities revealed on Monday.

The Chatham County Police Department (CCPD) reported that on June 1, 2019, a woman was asleep in her Colonial Grand apartment when she was awakened by a stranger who had broken in and was sexually assaulting her.

The victim stated in court that she did not know her attacker, Kasey Levi Lyons Dyak, prior to the incident. According to the Chatham County District Attorney’s (DA) Office, he gained entry to her apartment by cutting the screen door while she slept.

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.