By Patti Weaver
STILLWATER — A 22-year-old Stillwater man has been given a five-year prison term for sexually battering at Sanborn Lake a 20-year-old woman incapable of giving legal consent, as part of a plea agreement with the prosecution that was approved in court by District Judge Jason Reese on Dec. 12.
On his release from prison, Ali Cayden Al-Matairi, who had pleaded guilty to a sexual battery charge after a first-degree rape count was dropped, must serve five years of probation, register as a sex offender for life, take sex offender therapy, undergo regular polygraphs and have no contact with her or her guardians.
An investigation had begun on Sept. 30, 2024, when the woman’s parents reported to the Oklahoma State University Police Department that their daughter, who was involved in a transitional program at the university for intellectually disabled individuals, had been sexually assaulted, an affidavit said.
“It was reported Al-Matairi picked (the woman) up from her dorm room on campus at approximately 5 pm on Sept. 30, 2024, and took her to a secluded location at a lake. (The woman) left her cell phone and her Apple watch at her dorm, so her location was not known. She told officers that Al-Matairi picked her up, and she believed he was taking her to a fishing spot for a hike,” the affidavit said.
Her parents “reported they located messages on (their daughter’s) phone between her and Al-Matairi, approximately one week prior to the sexual assault. They stated they also found a screenshot in (her) Facebook Messenger indicating Al-Matairi wanted to have sex with (her). They reported she did not know what this meant and was upset by the message.
“The parents made efforts to remove Al-Matairi’s phone number from (her) phone and delete him from her social media, fearing for their daughter’s safety and well-being,” the affidavit said.
After their daughter had an examination at the Stillwater Medical Center, OSU Investigator Kyle McCool determined, with the woman and her parents’ help, that “the sexual assault occurred at Sanborn Lake within the jurisdiction of the Stillwater Police Department,” SPD Detective Rachel Bruce wrote in an affidavit.
During an interview at the Saville Center on Oct. 25, 2024, “It was clear (she) had difficulty understanding information and articulating herself. However, she was able to tell the forensic interviewer what occurred at the lake. (She) reported ‘Ali’ had texted her and had talked about sex, prior to going on a ‘date’ with him. On the way to the lake, (she) stated Al-Matairi talked to her about getting married and getting her pregnant.
“(She) told the interviewer that she told Al-Matairi ‘no’ and that she did not like him because he was a ‘touchy’ person. (She) said Al-Matairi told her it hurt his feelings that she did not have feelings or a connection with him. (She) remarked, ‘I don’t have connections or feelings for strangers.’
“She also told the interviewer that he also had a gun in his possession while he was with her. She denied he overtly threatened her with the gun, but mentioned the presence of a handgun, which he removed from his pocket and placed in his vehicle. The mere presence of a gun made an impact on her to the point she mentioned it without prompting in the interview,” the affidavit alleged.
Based on information provided by the woman, the Stillwater police detective located surveillance video from Sept. 30, 2024, at a convenience store that supported details about the time she spent with Al-Matairi, the affidavit alleged. When Al-Matairi was stopped by Stillwater police for a minor traffic violation on Oct. 29, 2024, it appeared he was driving the same vehicle, the affidavit alleged.
When the detective watched the officer’s body-worn camera video of that interaction, “I observed Al-Matairi to be a normal functioning adult male. He did not appear to have any apparent or profound intellectual disabilities, like the victim. During this investigation, I made telephone contact with Al-Matairi concerning this case and arranged an interview with him. He failed to show up for the interview,” the detective alleged in her affidavit.
After a first-degree rape and sexual battery charge was filed against him on Jan. 30, Al-Matairi was arrested on Feb. 4 and released on $25,000 bond the same day but re-arrested on June 4 when he failed to appear in court with an attorney as ordered by a judge and was jailed on $50,000 bail, court records show.
