Man accused of raping intoxicated Indiana University student at dorm
An Indiana University student reluctant to file a rape report against a fellow student was convinced to do so by friends who were with her the night of the alleged attack.
One of the friends collected a used condom he found that night in the bathroom near his dorm room where the woman said she had been sexually assaulted and raped while vomiting after she drank too much.
The male student put the evidence inside a plastic bag, kept it in his dorm room refrigerator and turned it over to police when the woman reported the assault on Dec. 6, according to an Indiana University Police Department detective's report.
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Samuel H. Elliott, 18, of Huntington, turned himself in at the Monroe County Jail at 7:30 Tuesday night. A warrant had been issued Jan. 20 for his arrest on a rape charge. He posted 10% of his $25,000 bond plus $500 cash and was released. An initial court hearing is set for Feb. 4.
Elliott is not listed in the IU directory as a student this semester.
A probable-cause affidavit filed by IUPD Detective Nathan Koontz says seven IU students were drinking alcohol in the third-floor lounge at Teter-Thompson dorm the night of Dec. 2. When a resident assistant came by, they decided to move to one of the student's rooms to continue drinking.
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The woman who reported being raped told police she consumed Pink Whitney vodka and other alcoholic beverages over about three hours and became "highly intoxicated." When she went to a bathroom to vomit, she said Elliott followed her to a toilet and raped her as she continued to throw up.
She told police Elliott asked her if they could have sex, and that she replied she was too intoxicated to make a decision.
She said Elliott told her not to reveal what had happened, and walked her back to her dorm, where she told a friend who was with her that night.
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When others in the group found out, they encouraged the woman to report the assault and told police what they knew.
Contact reporter Laura Lane at llane@heraldt.com, 812-331-4362 or 812-318-5967
This article originally appeared on The Herald-Times: Man charged with December rape of IU student in campus dorm
