USU student arrested for off-campus rape, confesses on recorded phone call

A Utah State University student was arrested Wednesday on a first-degree felony charge of rape.

Paul Costel, 21, appeared in court Thursday and was released from the Cache County Jail that day after posting $40,000 bail. A continued initial appearance is scheduled for Tuesday at the First Judicial District Court in Logan.

According to a probable cause statement, Costel and two female friends were hanging out together in his apartment June 27. One woman left around 2 a.m. The other woman then helped the intoxicated Costel to his bedroom, where they sat on his bed talking. After attempting to kiss her twice and being told “no,” he forcefully removed her clothing and raped her, Detective Matt Woods wrote in the statement. The woman went to the hospital for a rape exam the next day, where she also reported the incident to the police. The rape kit was given to police as evidence, which will be compared to Costel’s DNA.

The police conducted a recorded phone call Wednesday, in which the woman asked Costel if he remembered her asking him to stop, and if he understood that he raped her. He said he did, and that he was sorry. Woods arrested him at his workplace later that day.

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