ST. CLOUD - A 22-year-old St. Cloud man has pleaded guilty to raping a girl at knifepoint inside a St. Cloud high school in 2019, canceling the four-day jury trial that was slated to start Monday.

Robert S. Epps Jr. was charged in 2021 with one felony count of third-degree criminal sexual conduct for the assault. He initially pleaded not guilty but amended his plea Friday as part of a deal that ensures Epps sees prison time in exchange for dismissing other assault-related cases going through the judicial process.

According to court documents, a former classmate of Epps told police Epps, then 18, followed her into a bathroom during a basketball game at Apollo High School in December 2019.

The girl, then 15, said Epps pushed her against the wall of a bathroom stall, placed his hand on her throat and held a pocketknife to her stomach, threatening to cut her if she didn't have sex with him. He then threw her to the floor and raped her, documents state.

The girl reported the assault to police the following April. In May 2020, police interviewed Epps, who reportedly admitted to being in the bathroom with the girl but said they just consensually kissed, documents state.

At a hearing Friday, Epps signed a document stating if he pleads guilty to the felony count, the prosecutor will ask the judge for Epps to be sentenced to four years in prison, register as a predatory offender for his lifetime, undergo 10 years of conditional release and pay restitution.

The agreement also wraps up three other cases in Stearns County: For pleading guilty to one misdemeanor count of violating a domestic abuse no-contact order, he will be sentenced to 90 days in jail with credit for 90 days served. The state will then dismiss a separate felony count for criminal sexual conduct with an underage victim and agree to not charge Epps for a separate incident in which he hasn't yet been charged.

The agreement also includes a case in Benton County where Epps was charged with two felony counts of third-degree sexual conduct for raping a girl after a wedding in August 2020. As part of the deal, Epps will plead guilty to one count and the prosecutor will ask for him to be sentenced to about two years in prison, serve five years of probation and pay restitution.

Epps is scheduled to be sentenced in Stearns County on May 21.