A district court judge in Baltimore, USA, has ruled that the Towson University student, Onyekachukwu Chukwuebuk Igwilo accused of raping a fellow student over the weekend will stay in jail.
Baltimore County Police say the incident happened on campus in the suspect’s dorm room.
Police say Igwilo invited the victim to his room at Marshall Hall to watch a movie Sunday afternoon when soon, his unwanted advances toward the woman escalated.
“He continued until the point he held her down and then raped her. After that, he refused to let her leave initially, but then eventually did let her leave,“ said Ofc. Jennifer Peach, a spokesperson for the Baltimore County Police Department.
The woman called campus police, who alerted county police. Officers say they found the woman with a large bruise around her throat. They immediately arrested Igwilo.
Students who’ve heard the news are stunned by the allegations.
“You know, I always heard crazy stories that happened at every campus, typical stories, but this is the first I’ve heard about a rape,“ said Sami Sultana, a student who lives off campus.
“That’s the lowest of the low. I don’t affiliate myself with any guy who thinks that it’s OK to advance beyond the point where a woman says no. Any dude who thinks that’s OK needs to really reevaluate themselves,“ said Tristian Whipple, while holding his girlfriend’s hand.
Police say the suspect and the victim met this summer through a group chat for new students. They began to hang out when school started and over the weekend, police say things turned violent.
When the case came up for hearing on Tuesday, a district court judge ruled that Igwilo, will stay in jail.
Attorneys for both Igwilo and the state agree what happened inside Igwilo’s on-campus apartment started consensually. Where the two stories split, however, is how it ended.
“Our detectives felt like there was sufficient probable cause to make an arrest,” Cpl. Shawn Vinson, a spokesman for the Baltimore County Police Deparmtent said.
Court documents reveal Igwilo and the victim, a fellow student who knew Igwilo, were in bed watching TV inside his apartment. After what started as Igwilo consensually rubbing the victim’s breasts, he then started to remove her pants, as the victim told him to stop and tried pushing him away.
Police say Igwilo then held the victim down forced himself inside of her.
The documents continue stating that the victim saw Igwilo holding his cell phone leading her to believe he was taking pictures.
“We could see the physical injury that was on our victim. That was consistent with her story based on the story she gave us and the physical evidence,” Vinson said.
The victim was able to get away from Igwilo. Medical personnel confirmed she had a large, visible bruise to the left side of her throat, and had signs of vaginal trauma.
That was enough for the judge to say Igwilo should stay in jail.
“We want our victims to know that we take all allegations seriously and we offer a number of resources also. It’s not just the criminal investigation, it’s offering the resources and the follow-up, people that our victims can talk to,” Vinson said.
With FOXNEWS 45 report
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