NEWTOWN — The attorney representing the family of a University of Connecticut student wanted in connection with two homicides says he’s suffered from mental health issues for years, but the deadly crime spree “came out of nowhere.”

On Tuesday, Peter Manfredonia remained on the run — believed to be in the Poconos area of eastern Pennsylvania — after police say he killed two people in Connecticut, including shooting his former Newtown High School classmate in the head, according to the state’s chief medical examiner.

In an interview with Hearst Connecticut Media, attorney Michael Dolan said Manfredonia’s parents had been in regular contact with him until the series of events began on Friday.

His father, Robert Manfredonia, is facing charges of his own, according to Lt. Aaron Bahamonde, a spokesman for the Newtown Police Department. Robert Manfredonia, 54, of Newtown, is free on $50,000 bond after being charged in April with second-degree sexual assault, two counts of risk of injury to a minor and two counts of providing alcohol to a minor.

According to his warrant, Robert Manfredonia provided alcohol to two underage teen girls in Newtown on April 10. One of the girls also told investigators they “smoked a little weed,” the warrant stated. After one of the girls left, Manfredonia groped the other teen, the warrant stated.

When confronted the next day by the girl’s mother, Manfredonia did not “deny or dispel the allegations,” the warrant stated.

Dolan said he was not aware of the charges against Robert Manfredonia.

Robert Manfredonia declined to comment when reached Tuesday. Efforts to reach Peter Manfredonia’s mother, Jeanette, were unsuccessful.

Dolan did not know when the last time Manfredonia spoke to his parents, but said they had a heightened concern about his history of mental health issues when they heard about the alleged crime spree.

“He certainly did have mental health issues, but he had no history of violence,” Dolan said. “This really came out of nowhere.”

His parents, who are divorced, are cooperating with the investigation, Dolan said.

Peter Manfredonia grew up in his family’s former home on the same Sandy Hook street as Adam Lanza, according to property records. According to posts on his social media feeds, Peter Manfredonia supported Sandy Hook charitable organizations that formed to end gun violence after Lanza killed 20 students and six educators in 2012.

“Our heartfelt condolences go out to all of the families and people impacted by the shootings and attacks linked to UConn student Peter Manfredonia,” a statement reads from Sandy Hook Promise. “We can confirm that he participated in an athletic event in 2019 and chose Sandy Hook Promise as one of his fundraising recipients. We hope he surrenders peacefully to the authorities and that no one else is hurt or killed.”

Peter Manfredona was recently living in an off-campus apartment in Storrs, according to Dolan, who did not know if he had any roommates.

Dolan said he’s trying to use the media to reach out to Peter Manfredonia, who was last seen in Pennsylvania Sunday afternoon and is considered “armed and dangerous,” according to police.

“On behalf of the family, I’m pursuing every avenue to reach their child, including cooperation with police,” Dolan said.

Manfredonia, an accomplished football player and track athlete at Newtown High School where he graduated in 2015, is a senior at the University of Connecticut, where he is a finance and mechanical engineering student.

Stephanie Reitz, a UConn spokeswoman, declined to comment whether Manfredonia had a disciplinary record at the school.

UConn President Tom Katsouleas said in a statement that the university has been working with Connecticut state police and other agencies to help in the search for Manfredonia.

“The horrific and incomprehensible loss of life is reminiscent of so many other tragedies at so many other places around the country and the world,” Katsouleas said. “Though rare, we have been sadly reminded that none are immune from such random acts, and that they don’t always happen somewhere else.”

Lt. John Aiello, commanding officer of the Connecticut state police Eastern District Major Crimes Squad, addressed Manfredonia during a press conference Tuesday afternoon at the agency’s Middletown headquarters.

“Peter, we’ve talked to your family. We’ve talked to your friends and your roommates. All of them have said the same thing that this behavior is out of the ordinary for you,” Aiello said. “We know this is not who you are.”

While Aiello urged for Manfredonia to surrender, Pennsylvania state police said the fugitive has continued to elude authorities.

Pennsylvania State Police Trooper Anthony Petroski said a black Hyundai Santa Fe with Pennsylvania license plate KYW-1650 was stolen around 9 p.m. Monday from the area where Manfredonia was last seen. However, he said police have not confirmed whether Manfredonia stole the vehicle.

Bahamonde said Newtown police have increased their manpower for each shift and have taken “a defensive standpoint” in case Manfredonia returns to Connecticut.

Bahamonde said Newtown police have assisted state troopers in conducting “some searches” in town, including at Robert Manfredonia’s Queen Street residence.

Manfredonia was last seen Sunday afternoon in eastern Pennsylvania near the Poconos. The Pennsylvania state police said Manfredonia used an Uber to flee into East Stroudsburg Sunday afternoon after ditching a woman he kidnapped in Connecticut and her car at the New Jersey border.

Pennsylvania state police have released an image of Manfredonia walking along railroad tracks carrying what appeared to be a large duffel bag shortly after he was dropped off by the Uber. Pennsylvania state police said they believe the bag is filled with guns Manfredonia is accused of stealing during a Connecticut home invasion over the weekend.

It remains unknown what sparked the alleged crime spree that began Friday when police say Manfredonia attacked two men with a type of machete in upstate Connecticut. However, a source close to the investigation said Manfredonia was on his way to meet a former girlfriend when his motorcycle broke down in Willington.

Theodore DeMers offered Manfredonia a ride on his ATV when police say the 62-year-old man was attacked with an “edged” weapon. A second man who came to the aid of DeMers was critically injured, police said. By Tuesday, officials said he was in stable condition.

Chief Medical Examiner James Gill said DeMers’ death was caused by “sharp force and chop injuries of head with sharp force injuries of torso and extremities.” The manner of death was classified as homicide, Gill said.

On Sunday, a Willington man reported being held captive by Manfredonia, who stole his guns, food, supplies and his truck during a home invasion, according to police.

A few hours later, police recovered the stolen truck in Derby, setting off an extensive search that led authorities to a Roosevelt Drive home about a mile away. Police said video surveillance showed Manfredonia walking “directly” toward Nicholas Eisele’s home between 5 and 6 a.m. Sunday. Eisele also graduated Newtown High in 2015 and was described by police as an “acquaintance” of Manfredonia.

Gill said Eisele’s cause of death was “gunshot wounds of head.” Gill said Eisele’s manner of death was ruled homicide.

By the time police arrived, Manfredonia had fled and kidnapped Eisele’s girlfriend in her 2016 Volkswagen Jetta. The woman and the car were recovered later Sunday in New Jersey. Police said the woman was unharmed and returned to Connecticut where she was interviewed by investigators.

Staff writers Ben Lambert, Rob Ryser and Kendra Baker contributed to this story.

Anyone with any information is asked to call Derby police at 203-735-7811, state police at 860-896-3200 or the FBI at 1-800-CALLFBI. Any sightings of Manfredonia should be called in to 911.

NEWTOWN — The attorney representing the family of a University of Connecticut student wanted in connection with two homicides says he’s suffered from mental health issues for years, but the deadly crime spree “came out of nowhere.”

On Tuesday, Peter Manfredonia remained on the run — believed to be in the Poconos area of eastern Pennsylvania — after police say he killed two people in Connecticut, including shooting his former Newtown High School classmate in the head, according to the state’s chief medical examiner.

In an interview with Hearst Connecticut Media, attorney Michael Dolan said Manfredonia’s parents had been in regular contact with him until the series of events began on Friday.

His father, Robert Manfredonia, is facing charges of his own, according to Lt. Aaron Bahamonde, a spokesman for the Newtown Police Department. Robert Manfredonia, 54, of Newtown, is free on $50,000 bond after being charged in April with second-degree sexual assault, two counts of risk of injury to a minor and two counts of providing alcohol to a minor.

According to his warrant, Robert Manfredonia provided alcohol to two underage teen girls in Newtown on April 10. One of the girls also told investigators they “smoked a little weed,” the warrant stated. After one of the girls left, Manfredonia groped the other teen, the warrant stated.

When confronted the next day by the girl’s mother, Manfredonia did not “deny or dispel the allegations,” the warrant stated.

Dolan said he was not aware of the charges against Robert Manfredonia.

Robert Manfredonia declined to comment when reached Tuesday. Efforts to reach Peter Manfredonia’s mother, Jeanette, were unsuccessful.

Dolan did not know when the last time Manfredonia spoke to his parents, but said they had a heightened concern about his history of mental health issues when they heard about the alleged crime spree.

“He certainly did have mental health issues, but he had no history of violence,” Dolan said. “This really came out of nowhere.”

His parents, who are divorced, are cooperating with the investigation, Dolan said.

Peter Manfredona grew up in his family’s former home on the same Sandy Hook street as Adam Lanza, according to property records. According to posts on his social media feeds, Peter Manfredonia supported Sandy Hook charitable organizations that formed to end gun violence after Lanza killed 20 students and six educators in 2012.

“Our heartfelt condolences go out to all of the families and people impacted by the shootings and attacks linked to UConn student Peter Manfredonia,” a statement reads from Sandy Hook Promise. “We can confirm that he participated in an athletic event in 2019 and chose Sandy Hook Promise as one of his fundraising recipients. We hope he surrenders peacefully to the authorities and that no one else is hurt or killed.”

Peter Manfredona was recently living in an off-campus apartment in Storrs, according to Dolan, who did not know if he had any roommates.

Dolan said he’s trying to use the media to reach out to Peter Manfredonia, who was last seen in Pennsylvania Sunday afternoon and is considered “armed and dangerous,” according to police.

“On behalf of the family, I’m pursuing every avenue to reach their child, including cooperation with police,” Dolan said.

Manfredonia, an accomplished football player and track athlete at Newtown High School where he graduated in 2015, is a senior at the University of Connecticut, where he is a finance and mechanical engineering student.

Stephanie Reitz, a UConn spokeswoman, declined to comment whether Manfredonia had a disciplinary record at the school.

UConn President Tom Katsouleas said in a statement that the university has been working with Connecticut state police and other agencies to help in the search for Manfredonia.

“The horrific and incomprehensible loss of life is reminiscent of so many other tragedies at so many other places around the country and the world,” Katsouleas said. “Though rare, we have been sadly reminded that none are immune from such random acts, and that they don’t always happen somewhere else.”

Lt. John Aiello, commanding officer of the Connecticut state police Eastern District Major Crimes Squad, addressed Manfredonia during a press conference Tuesday afternoon at the agency’s Middletown headquarters.

“Peter, we’ve talked to your family. We’ve talked to your friends and your roommates. All of them have said the same thing that this behavior is out of the ordinary for you,” Aiello said. “We know this is not who you are.”

While Aiello urged for Manfredonia to surrender, Pennsylvania state police said the fugitive has continued to elude authorities.

Pennsylvania State Police Trooper Anthony Petroski said a black Hyundai Santa Fe with Pennsylvania license plate KYW-1650 was stolen around 9 p.m. Monday from the area where Manfredonia was last seen. However, he said police have not confirmed whether Manfredonia stole the vehicle.

Bahamonde said Newtown police have increased their manpower for each shift and have taken “a defensive standpoint” in case Manfredonia returns to Connecticut.

Bahamonde said Newtown police have assisted state troopers in conducting “some searches” in town, including at Robert Manfredonia’s Queen Street residence.

Manfredonia was last seen Sunday afternoon in eastern Pennsylvania near the Poconos. The Pennsylvania state police said Manfredonia used an Uber to flee into East Stroudsburg Sunday afternoon after ditching a woman he kidnapped in Connecticut and her car at the New Jersey border.

Pennsylvania state police have released an image of Manfredonia walking along railroad tracks carrying what appeared to be a large duffel bag shortly after he was dropped off by the Uber. Pennsylvania state police said they believe the bag is filled with guns Manfredonia is accused of stealing during a Connecticut home invasion over the weekend.

It remains unknown what sparked the alleged crime spree that began Friday when police say Manfredonia attacked two men with a type of machete in upstate Connecticut. However, a source close to the investigation said Manfredonia was on his way to meet a former girlfriend when his motorcycle broke down in Willington.

Theodore DeMers offered Manfredonia a ride on his ATV when police say the 62-year-old man was attacked with an “edged” weapon. A second man who came to the aid of DeMers was critically injured, police said. By Tuesday, officials said he was in stable condition.

Chief Medical Examiner James Gill said DeMers’ death was caused by “sharp force and chop injuries of head with sharp force injuries of torso and extremities.” The manner of death was classified as homicide, Gill said.

On Sunday, a Willington man reported being held captive by Manfredonia, who stole his guns, food, supplies and his truck during a home invasion, according to police.

A few hours later, police recovered the stolen truck in Derby, setting off an extensive search that led authorities to a Roosevelt Drive home about a mile away. Police said video surveillance showed Manfredonia walking “directly” toward Nicholas Eisele’s home between 5 and 6 a.m. Sunday. Eisele also graduated Newtown High in 2015 and was described by police as an “acquaintance” of Manfredonia.

Gill said Eisele’s cause of death was “gunshot wounds of head.” Gill said Eisele’s manner of death was ruled homicide.

By the time police arrived, Manfredonia had fled and kidnapped Eisele’s girlfriend in her 2016 Volkswagen Jetta. The woman and the car were recovered later Sunday in New Jersey. Police said the woman was unharmed and returned to Connecticut where she was interviewed by investigators.

Staff writers Ben Lambert, Rob Ryser and Kendra Baker contributed to this story.

Anyone with any information is asked to call Derby police at 203-735-7811, state police at 860-896-3200 or the FBI at 1-800-CALLFBI. Any sightings of Manfredonia should be called in to 911.

A former Bethel University football player is accused of sexually assaulting three students enrolled at the Christian college in 2018.

The women reported the incidents to police in recent months, leading authorities to charge Gideon Osamwonyi Erhabor, 21, via warrant with three counts of third-degree criminal sexual conduct, according to charges filed Tuesday in Ramsey County District Court.

Erhabor was listed as a running back on Bethel’s football team in 2018. He was not on the 2019 roster. Bethel spokesman Michael Vedders confirmed that Erhabor was a student at the Arden Hills school from the fall of 2017 to fall 2018. Vedders said the university was unaware of any criminal complaint against Erhabor and was unable to comment on the matter.

“Bethel University is saddened and concerned when any sexual assault is reported and is committed to cooperating with law enforcement,” he said.

Erhabor, who was arrested and jailed Wednesday in Collin County, Texas, was unable to be reached.

The allegations date back to the fall and winter of 2018.

In one instance, a now-22-year-old woman who was attending the college at the time told police she ran into Erhabor at a house party on the 5000 block of Lexington Avenue North in December of that year, according to the charges.

She brought one hard seltzer alcoholic drink with her to the gathering and remembers walking around and socializing for about half an hour, before blacking out, according to the charges.

She woke up the next morning groggy and confused with pain in her vaginal area and bruising on her legs, the complaint said.

Her friends told her that she disappeared for a short time at the party and that when she reappeared she was “highly intoxicated,” according to the charges.

In the few flashbacks she could recall from that evening, the woman remembered Erhabor “hanging around her” before she blacked out, and telling him she wasn’t interested in having sex with him at the time, according to the charges.

She used Snapchat to contact Erhabor to help fill in the gaps in her memory, specifically asking if anything had happened between the two of them at the party and if she needed to be concerned about pregnancy, according to the charges.

Erhabor responded, “I used a condom. You’re fine,” the complaint said.

A onetime Bethel University football player has been charged with raping three students in a span of less than three months while he attended the school late last year.

Gideon O. Erhabor, 21, of McKinney, Texas, was charged Tuesday in Ramsey County District Court with third-degree criminal sexual conduct in connection with the rapes that occurred on or near the Christian-based private school’s Arden Hills campus in the fall of 2018.

Sheriff’s deputies caught up with Erhabor in his hometown, and he told them each case involved consensual sex, according to the charging documents.

Erhabor was arrested Tuesday in Texas and remains jailed there Thursday pending extradition to Minnesota.

Erhabor was a running back for Bethel in 2017 and 2018. The graduate of McKinney Christian Academy was majoring in business before he left Bethel at the end of 2018.

John Addleman, special assistant to the university president’s office, declined to say whether Erhabor was disciplined by the school before his departure.

A campuswide notice in connection with the assaults was sent Thursday by Bethel’s administration, more than seven months after two of the women went to university officials with their allegations.

“We are saddened and concerned by this news and are committed to cooperating with law enforcement,” read the statement from Michael Vedders, Bethel’s chief enrollment and marketing officer. “As a community, we strive to ensure our campus is a safe, welcoming and respectful place for our students to learn and our employees to work. … Please join us in prayer for all those involved.”

According to the charges against Erhabor:

An 18-year-old student said she was invited by Erhaborto his dorm room on Sept. 11, 2018, to watch a movie.

While in his room, she turned him down for sex, but he forcibly kissed and groped her before raping her.

In the second case, a 19-year-old student said she was at a house party on Oct. 6, 2018, in Roseville and drank two alcoholic drinks. About 2 a.m. she went outside and felt disoriented. Later that morning, she awoke in a friend’s apartment “totally confused about what happened the night before.”

On Nov. 30, Erhabor came to her room and got in bed with her, and she told him she didn’t want to have sex. Erhabor asked why and explained they had sex at the house party in October.

Erhabor made a habit of aggressively pursuing her by asking her out, kissing her and trying to persuade her to have sex. She said no each time, charges said.

In the third case, a 21-year-old student said she was at a house party on Dec. 8, 2018, in Shoreview with three of her college friends. She brought a can of hard seltzer with her. She recalled mingling at the party for about 30 minutes before blacking out and waking up late the next morning feeling groggy, queasy, and feeling pain in her genitalia.

She reported the incident the next day to her former resident assistant, stating that she did not want to have sex with Erhabor.

In April, the 21-year-old and the 19-year-old filed sexual assault reports with Bethel officials.

Statistics provided by Bethel show that allegations in recent years of sexual assault on campus are rare. Four alleged rapes were reported to have occurred in 2016-2018. Covered by the data are Bethel’s Frogtown/Summit U satellite and study abroad locations. Not included are reports of assaulted involving Bethel students but occurring off-campus.

 

A former running back on the Bethel University football team has been charged with raping three fellow students of the Arden Hills-based college during the fall of 2018. 

In one alleged incident, Gideon O. Erhabor, 21, of McKinney, Texas, is accused of raping a Bethel student on Dec. 8, 2018 at a house party on the 5000 block of Lexington Ave. N. in Shoreview. 

The victim told investigators that she brought a can of hard seltzer to the party and then blacked out about an hour after being there. She woke the next day at her friend’s apartment, feeling groggy and queasy, in addition to finding signs of a possible sexual assault. 

The criminal complaint explains that one of the victim’s few memories from the night was of Erhabor on top of her, and when she asked him if anything happened he responded: “I used a condom. You’re fine.” 

The victim said she remembered making it clear that she did not want to have sex with him. She later learned, in April 2019, of another student who was allegedly sexually assaulted by Erhabor at a house party on Sept. 9, 2018. They then helped each other file formal complaints to the university against Erhabor. 

According to criminal complaints, Ramsey County deputies were notified of an alleged sexual assault on June 2. The victim told authorities she was sexually assaulted by Erhabor on Dec. 8, 2018 at a house party in Shoreview. The victim told deputies she walked around the party for about half an hour and then blacked out, and woke up the next morning at an apartment feeling groggy, queasy and experiencing vaginal pain, a complaint states. She also noticed bruising on her thighs.

The victim’s friends reported to police that the victim had gone missing for about an hour while they were at the party, and when she reappeared she seemed highly intoxicated and wasn’t making any sense.

According to the complaint, the victim had a flashback memory of Erhabor on top of her, and when she snapchatted him on Dec. 9 asking if anything happened at the party, Erhabor allegedly responded, “I used a condom. You’re fine.”

The victim told authorities she also reported the incident to her former residence assistant. The RA told police the victim was crying and really upset the day after the sexual assault, and said the victim thought Erhabor had sex with her at the party after she blacked out. The victim also said Erhabor was all over her before she blacked out and she made it clear she didn’t want to have sex with him.

The complaint states the victim said she felt ashamed after the assault and didn’t want to make a formal report. In April 2019, she learned another student had been sexually assaulted by Erhabor on Sept. 9, 2018 while that girl was blacked out. The victim said she and the other victim then went to the university on April 24, 2019 and she filed a formal report against Erhabor. The other victim filed a formal report against Erhabor two days later with university officials.

Ramsey County deputies met with Erhabor at an ice cream shop in is home town of McKinney, Texas on Aug. 5, the complaint states. During that meeting, Erhabor reported he was drinking before he got to the party. He claimed the victim came onto him sexually so they went to his car and she consented to sex. He said the victim had second thoughts as they were having sex, so they stopped and he went back to the party, leaving the victim outside. Erhabor told authorities when the victim snapchatted him the next day, he told her he used a condom, and they hadn’t had any contact since.

Deputies received a report of a sexual assault involving Erhabor by that second victim on June 7. The victim said the sexual assault occurred on Oct. 7, 2018, at a house party in Roseville. A complaint states the victim told deputies she had been socializing with friends and consumed two alcoholic drinks. At about 2 a.m., she went outside and then woke up the next morning at an apartment wearing only a t-shirt.

The complaint states Erhabor came to the victim’s room uninvited and climbed into her bed on Nov. 30, 2018, and the victim asked what he was doing and told him she wouldn’t do anything sexual with him. The victim told deputies Erhabor then asked why nothing sexual would happen and said he’d already seen “it” before when they had sex at the house party in October. Erhabor then allegedly told the victim they had sex in a bathroom at the party and she fell asleep.

The victim told authorities Erhabor had asked her to go out with him numerous times prior to the house party and asked her to have sex with him on multiple occasions, the complaint states. The victim said she told Erhabor “no” every time he asked.

When deputies met with Erhabor in McKinney, Texas on Aug. 5, Erhabor said he first met the victim freshman year and they had run into each other at several parties. He claimed the victim always came onto him sexually and admitted they had sex at the October house party. The complaint states he denied the victim ever fell asleep while they were having sex. Erhabor also told deputies he didn’t recall sending a message to the victim telling her she was asleep while they had sex, and if he did it was likely the result of his “dark sense of humor and I make jokes like that.”

Ramsey County deputies received another report of a sexual assault involving Ramsey County deputies on June 21, which also occurred in a Bethel dorm room. A complaint states the victim said the assault occurred on Sept. 11, 2018. The victim told authorities Erhabor and the victim had been snapchatting and Erhabor asked the victim to come to his room to watch a movie.

The complaint states the victim told Erhabor she didn’t want to have sex with him, but he started kissing and groping her. Erhabor then allegedly got more aggressive and when the victim tried to move away from him, the victim said Erhabor grabbed her by the hips and raped her as she cried into a pillow and pleaded for him to stop. Afterward, Erhabor took her back to her dorm room.

The victim told authorities she was in shock afterward and asked a friend to come get her.

According to the complaint, when Ramsey County deputies interviewed Erhabor on Aug. 5 at the ice cream shop in his hometown he allegedly admitted to meeting the victim and said they “made out.” Erhabor told the deputies the two went back to his dorm room and, after some foreplay, they had sex and the victim then cried after she “recounted a prior event,” the complaint states. Erhabor then said they watched a movie and had sex again, and when they finished Erhabor told the victim he “understood if she never wanted to speak with him again” and they hadn’t spoken since.

Erhabor was listed on the Bethel University website as a running back for the football team in 2017. He was in custody Wednesday afternoon in the Collin County Jail in Texas.

Each criminal sexual conduct charge carries a maximum sentence of 15 years in prison, a $30,000 fine or both.

A Bethel University spokesperson issued the following statement on the matter:

“Mr. Erhabor was a student at Bethel University from Fall semester 2017 through Fall semester 2018. During this time, he was also on the football roster. The university has not seen the criminal complaint and is therefore unable to comment. Bethel University is saddened and concerned when any sexual assault is reported and is committed to cooperating with law enforcement. We strive to ensure our campus is a safe, welcoming, and respectful place for our students to learn and our employees to work.”

GALVESTON, Texas – A Ball High School student has been charged with sexual assault after being accused of assaulting two female classmates on campus, officials at the Galveston Independent School District confirmed Thursday.

Derek Lee Williams, 18, was arrested Monday. He is charged with sexual assault of a child and indecency with a child with sexual contact. Both are felonies. He also faces misdemeanor assault charges.

Galveston ISD officials confirmed three of the four alleged assaults occurred on the campus of Ball High School. The alleged assaults occurred over the course of the current school year, officials said.

Officials said parents of the victims filed complaints, which sparked an investigation conducted by Galveston ISD police.

A judge set Williams’ bail at $61,000. He was being held at the Galveston County Jail on Thursday.

Galveston ISD officials said Williams has been placed on out of school suspension.

Statement from Galveston ISD

“On November 18, 2019 a Galveston ISD student was arrested in response to complaints of alleged sexual assault filed by parents.

“The alleged assailant is a current student of Galveston ISD and has been placed on out of school suspension with pending administrative action. The district attorney has accepted the criminal charges, three of four of which allegedly occurred on school property.

“All parties involved in this ongoing investigation have been notified and are in full cooperation, pending disposition of the court proceedings.

“Ball High School has multiple agencies that can be accessed by students who have been abused or are victims of assault. These resources include on-site counselors, the Teen Health Center that is staffed with mental health professionals, as well as a team of trained staff devoted to the social and emotional well-being of our students. Ball High also houses the Galveston ISD Police Department.

“Student safety and security is paramount. We strongly encourage students and guardians to report concerns immediately to Galveston ISD PD directly at 409-766-5824, or to make a report anonymously or leave contact information on the GISD website at www.gisd.org/tipline.”

A onetime Bethel University football player has been charged with raping three students in a span of less than three months while he attended the school late last year.

Gideon O. Erhabor, 21, of McKinney, Texas, was charged Tuesday in Ramsey County District Court with third-degree criminal sexual conduct in connection with the rapes that occurred on or near the Christian-based private school’s Arden Hills campus in the fall of 2018.

Sheriff’s deputies caught up with Erhabor in his hometown, and he told them each case involved consensual sex, according to the charging documents.

Erhabor was arrested Tuesday in Texas and remains jailed there Thursday pending extradition to Minnesota.

Erhabor was a running back for Bethel in 2017 and 2018. The graduate of McKinney Christian Academy was majoring in business before he left Bethel at the end of 2018.

John Addleman, special assistant to the university president’s office, declined to say whether Erhabor was disciplined by the school before his departure.

A campuswide notice in connection with the assaults was sent Thursday by Bethel’s administration, more than seven months after two of the women went to university officials with their allegations.

“We are saddened and concerned by this news and are committed to cooperating with law enforcement,” read the statement from Michael Vedders, Bethel’s chief enrollment and marketing officer. “As a community, we strive to ensure our campus is a safe, welcoming and respectful place for our students to learn and our employees to work. … Please join us in prayer for all those involved.”

According to the charges against Erhabor:

An 18-year-old student said she was invited by Erhaborto his dorm room on Sept. 11, 2018, to watch a movie.

While in his room, she turned him down for sex, but he forcibly kissed and groped her before raping her.

In the second case, a 19-year-old student said she was at a house party on Oct. 6, 2018, in Roseville and drank two alcoholic drinks. About 2 a.m. she went outside and felt disoriented. Later that morning, she awoke in a friend’s apartment “totally confused about what happened the night before.”

On Nov. 30, Erhabor came to her room and got in bed with her, and she told him she didn’t want to have sex. Erhabor asked why and explained they had sex at the house party in October.

Erhabor made a habit of aggressively pursuing her by asking her out, kissing her and trying to persuade her to have sex. She said no each time, charges said.

In the third case, a 21-year-old student said she was at a house party on Dec. 8, 2018, in Shoreview with three of her college friends. She brought a can of hard seltzer with her. She recalled mingling at the party for about 30 minutes before blacking out and waking up late the next morning feeling groggy, queasy, and feeling pain in her genitalia.

She reported the incident the next day to her former resident assistant, stating that she did not want to have sex with Erhabor.

In April, the 21-year-old and the 19-year-old filed sexual assault reports with Bethel officials.

Statistics provided by Bethel show that allegations in recent years of sexual assault on campus are rare. Four alleged rapes were reported to have occurred in 2016-2018. Covered by the data are Bethel’s Frogtown/Summit U satellite and study abroad locations. Not included are reports of assaulted involving Bethel students but occurring off-campus.

 

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SANTA FE — A Pecos High School assistant basketball coach who has shared a house with a star player has been arrested and charged with rape for engaging in sexual misconduct with two female students, including one who was 14 years old at the time.

Dominick Baca, 29, is charged with three counts of criminal sexual penetration of a minor and two counts of criminal sexual contact of a minor for alleged abuse that took place in his school office and at his house going back to February 2017.

He was arrested at his Pecos home around noon Tuesday, State Police said.

Baca was an assistant coach for the Pecos High School basketball team that won its second consecutive state championship last month and serves as the school’s coordinator for GEAR UP, a program that prepares students for college .

Pecos Independent School District Superintendent Fred Trujillo said via email Tuesday that the district is taking steps to terminate Baca.

The Journal reported last year that Baca came under investigation by the New Mexico Athletics Association because he was living with a star Pecos High basketball player, which is against NMAA rules. A waiver was granted to allow the living arrangement to continue.

Two of the alleged sexual encounters for which Baca is now facing charges took place in his own bedroom, according to a police affidavit for an arrest warrant.

Player Carlos Cordova, who recently completed his senior season, offered to let Baca stay in Cordova’s single-wide trailer on the outskirts of Pecos in 2014. Cordova’s grandfather, who raised Cordova, had died of cancer earlier in the year, and Baca was looking for a place to live in Pecos after accepting the assistant coach job.

As of late 2017, Baca and Cordova had moved three times and were still living together in a four-bedroom home.

The police affidavit said allegations of sexual misconduct by Baca were initially reported to State Police in February 2017. But the girl involved, identified in the affidavit only by initials and 14 at the time, denied the relationship and said nothing occurred.

“However, she came forward after she was informed that Baca was also sexually assaulting other students,” the affidavit says.

The girl told police that Baca asked her if she wanted to meet him after Homecoming in February 2017, and she agreed. She said she met with Baca in his car outside of her house and said Baca wanted to have sex with her, but she didn’t want to. She said she performed a sexual act with Baca before he left.

About two weeks later, she said, Baca took her to his house after they had met up somewhere and had sex in his room. Afterward she said Baca told her “he was probably going to hell for having sex with her” and took her phone to make sure she didn’t record anything or text anyone about him. She said she has not communicated with Baca since that encounter.

While investigating Baca’s actions with the 14-year-old, State Police learned about Baca having sex with a second student, this one 17 years old. The affidavit does not say if the two girls are related.

The second girl told officers that Baca would send her nude pictures of himself and tried to entice her to send him nude photos. She said in mid-February of this year, Baca asked her to come to his office and they began talking. “Baca stepped out of his office, looked around for anyone in the hallway, and walked back into his office,” the affidavit says. Baca then started kissing and groping the teen before she pushed him off and left the room, she told police.

Later in February, she said, Baca asked her to come to his office again and closed his door after checking the hallway for people and started to kiss and grope her. She said she went to Baca’s house in March and had sex with him in his bedroom.

Baca was temporarily put on leave by the Pecos school district in November after the NMAA began investigating whether his living arrangement with basketball player Cordova broke NMAA bylaws regarding undue influence. The NMAA granted Cordova a hardship waiver and allowed him to keep living with Baca.