'He laughed while he was raping me': U of Minnesota student details brutal 2014 attack during tailgate party that led to year-long struggle to bring her attacker to justice

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A 21-year-old college student who was brutally raped during a tailgate party has revealed new horrifying details about the attack that left her covered in bruises. 

Abby Honold was a 19-year-old studying at the University of Minnesota when she met Daniel Drill-Mellum during a party before a football game in November 2014.

Drill-Mellum, at the time a 22-year-old member of the Sigma Phi Epsilon fraternity, has been sentenced to six years in prison for the horrific attack. 

But it took Honold more than a year to bring him to justice, thanks to a set-up phone call and callous treatment from authorities that allowed Drill-Mellum to attack again. 

Just 30 minutes after they met, Drill-Mellum had set his sights on Honold - trying to get her to drink more alcohol. 

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Abby Honold, 21, has revealed new horrifying details about her rape at the hands of Daniel Drill-Mellum while they were both students at the University of Minnesota two years ago 

Drill-Mellum, at the time a 22-year-old member of the Sigma Phi Epsilon fraternity, has been sentenced to six years in prison for the horrific attack 

'He had noticed my water bottle was empty, he took it from me and threw it to the ground and said, "We better get more,'" Honold told Dr. Phil. 

'I told him "I've drank enough"', she said. 'I was starting to feel a lightheaded and a little too drunk.' 

Bur Drill-Mellum didn't back off, asking Honold if she would help him get some from his apartment across the street. 

Honold said that, right off the bat, there was something about Drill-Mellum didn't feel right.

'At first when he asked me, I didn't want to,' she said. 'It didn't feel safe going across the street with someone I didn't know.' 

But one of Honold's friends had told her Drill-Mellum was gay, and he had promised they'd be back at the party in two minutes.  

And yet that feeling only intensified when Honold walked into Drill-Mellum's apartment and saw two shot glasses in the kitchen, already filled up with clear liquid.

'I remember telling him that I didn't think I should drink anymore,' she said. 'I thought it was weird that he had alcohol out for me.' 

Things only got weirder as Drill-Mellum began going into the bedrooms. 

'He told me he was making sure nobody was there,' she said. 'And I got really afraid.' 

When Drill-Mellum returned from the kitchen he grabbed the shot glass and held it out to Honold. 

It it took Honold more than a year to bring him to justice, thanks to a set-up phone call and callous treatment from authorities that allowed Drill-Mellum to attack again

Honold gave Dr Phil the brutal details of her attack, revealing that Drill-Mellum actually laughed at her as he raped her that day in November 2014 

'I remember sort of walking back up towards the wall,' she said, 'saying "I don't want it, I don't want to drink anymore, I'm way too drunk.' 

That's when Honold briefly blacked out. The next thing she knew she was in Drill-Mellum's bedroom and he was 'very violently ripping my clothes off'. 

'By the time my memory came to, my overalls were already off,' she continued. 'He was pulling down my leggings and I was watching his fingernails make scratch marks.' 

He then shoved her down on the bed and ripped her shirt off over my head. That's when Honold tried to negotiate.

'My brain sort of kicked in and I thought, maybe I can do something to get out of here,' she said. 

'I said, "If you let me perform a lesser sexual act will you let me go back to the party, and he said yes.' 

Honold was flooded with relief, but it was brief. 

'And I thought "Okay, it's going to be horrible but I can just do this and he’ll let me leave.'"

'He only allowed that to continue for about 30 seconds before he grabbed me up and started raping me.'

Honold said Drill-Mellum laughed as he raped her. After the first incident, Honold tried to escape again, desperate to return to the safety of her friends.

But Drill-Mellum physically stopped her from leaving and raped her for a second time.

Honold was held in the apartment for about 40 minutes before her attacker let her go. She said Drill-Mellum became upset at her for crying.

She called the police and reported Drill-Mellum, who was arrested at his apartment. 

Honold was put in an ambulance with two male cops. She said police refused to let a friend go with her to the hospital and there were no female officers around. 

Honold was left with bruises and bite marks after Drill-Mellum's attack. Her injuries were so bad, a nurse said they were some of the worst she had ever seen 

'I was hysterical in the ambulance,' she said. 'I was just terrified.' 

Honold said the two officers were making comments to each other about how drunk she was. 

'One of them looked at the other and rolled his eyes,' she said. 'I was mortified.' 

'I remember asking if I could call my mom, and that one of the officers said "No. This is pretty embarrassing for you. You can call her later.’” 

Honold said she was honest with the officers from the start, telling them she had offered to perform a lesser sexual act on Drill-Mellum so that he would let her go. 

'They responded to that with "Oh, so you went up there and did that with him."'

'They weren’t understanding that I had willingly gone up there to do anything sexual with him.'

Honold had suffered serious injuries in the attack. Part of her mouth was ripped open when Drill-Mellum stuck his fingers in her mouth.

A nurse who treated the junior in hospital said the injuries were some of the worst she had ever seen.

Shortly after, Honold received a phone call from two of Drill-Mellum's fraternity brothers, telling her he was a 'great kid' who has a 'lot going for him'.

What Honold didn't know was that they had placed her on speaker phone, hoping to record the moment they could 'trick' her into saying she has consensual sex with Drill-Mellum.   

A detective who dropped initial charges against Drill-Mellum told Honold that he had footage of her walking into his apartment and that her smile 'looked consensual'

The video of the call, obtained by the Star Tribune, lasts for more than five minutes. 

There are two men in the clip - one speaking to Honold and another stood beside him, at times whispering questions to put to the victim.

They initially appeared to be supportive of her, however the crucial moment of the call came when the unidentified speaker asked Honold if she and Drill-Mellum had 'consensual sex'. 

The man appears to have deliberately mumbled while asking the question, leading Honold to think he said: 'like actual sex'. 

She replied, 'yes'.

As a result of the video, Drill-Mellum was released two days after the incident. 

Sgt. Tom Stiller told Honold her attacker would not be charged. Stiller said it was because of the video, adding she was heard in it saying the sex was 'consensual'

'I thought that they must have edited it in some way, they must have doctored it,' Honold said. 'I thought, I would've never said that.' 

A detective also told Honold that he had footage of her walking into Drill-Mellum's apartment and that her smile 'looked consensual'. 

'I said, "What are you talking about? Do you have video of me leaving?'" she said. 

'He said it was time to move on with my life and forget about it. Which seemed impossible.' 

'It had only been four or five days and I felt like a completely different person.'  

Honold said she 'felt stupid' for falling for the trick, and for even speaking to her attacker's friends in the first place.

'I should've known that they were trying to help him, but I believed that they believed me,' she told DailyMail.com.

Meanwhile, one of the men on the call had been bragging to people about it. 

The case was reopened after University of Minnesota Police Department officer Kevin Randolph (pictured) became involved in the investigation

'He would say that he got Dan out of it and he was so smart, you know, the way that he did it,' she said. 

'I would just feel sick to my stomach. I couldn't believe they had done that so purposely, and it did derail my case.' 

It didn't get back on track until University of Minnesota Police Department officer Kevin Randolph heard the recording and knew he had to help.   

The officer had been sent a copy of the video by Amy Isenor, a lawyer with the Civil Society - a non-profit group that provides free advocacy for rape victims.

'That flipped my switch,' Randolph told the Star Tribune, saying he immediately knew Honold had been tricked.

'And when you flip my switch, I’m not going to stop until you’re sitting in front of a judge.'

Randolph reopened the investigation into Drill-Mellum and began to search for new evidence to bring charges against him. 

The officer then discovered that the mother of another student at the university had claimed her daughter was also raped by the college student.

The incident took place on Halloween 2014 - just weeks before Honold was attacked. The victim said he set upon her inside the laundry room of his fraternity house.

But, according to the Tribune, she was unwilling to come forward. As a result, a judge would still not allow new charges to be laid, saying a second accuser needed to be on record. 

Randolph was unable to find anything, meaning the case appeared to hit a dead-end - despite all that Honold had been through.

But then in late October 2015, almost a year to the day after Honold and the second woman were attacked, a third called Randolph. 

She told him she was attacked by Drill-Mellum in the summer of 2014.

Drill-Mellum was expelled from the University of Minnesota (pictured) after the school's Equal Opportunity and Affirmative Action office found him responsible for sexual assault 

The third woman was willing to come forward after seeing Drill-Mellum at a Halloween party at his frat house. She then called the student who was attacked the year before, and about two weeks later they had agreed to go on the record.

Honold received a call on Christmas Eve 2015 to find out Drill-Mellum had been arrested after flying in from Australia for his sister's wedding. 

'I felt a lot of things. I was overwhelmingly grateful that it had finally happened,' she told DailyMail.com

'I felt validated because I knew that finally everyone would see what he had done to me and what kind of person he was.' 

After his arrest, Drill-Mellum first tried to fight the charges. But he had a change of heart and decided to plead guilty, and was booked for a sentencing hearing in August.

Honold went to the sentencing. She told DailyMail.com about how she tried to block from her mind the fact she was going to be in the same room as her attacker again.

Amy Isenor, a lawyer with a non-profit group that provides free advocacy for rape victims, involved Randolph in the case after seeing the recorded conversation that had previously cleared Drill-Mellum

'When we got there, I got so nervous that I started shaking and hyperventilating. I was and still am very scared of him and what he's capable of, so the prospect of being in the same room as him was terrifying,' she said.

'Reading the impact statement, I completely broke down in tears for most of what I was reading, but I kept going. 

'I needed to get my side of the story out, especially for the family and friends that were still there supporting him.' 

Drill-Mellum was sentenced to six years in prison for two counts of third-degree criminal sexual conduct.

He told the court he was 'deeply sorry' for his crimes.

Honold said she would not have anything to say to him if she saw him again, instead offering a message to his victims. She believes there are dozens of them. 

'I support each one of his victims who has come forward to me, whether it was two years ago or today,' she said. 

'I support every victim of his who has not come forward because they are still too afraid.'

'I hope that he knows that he will never be able to get away with something like this again.'