CU Boulder Students Rally Against Classmate Accused Of Sexual Assault
BOULDER, Colo. (CBS4) - A group of University of Colorado Boulder students are demanding the university suspend a student accused of rape until his trial. They want him expelled if he's found guilty.
Zachary Roper, 19, is accused of raping a female student at his apartment after attending a sorority event with her in January.
According the arrest affidavit, the woman was supposed to take an Uber back to her sorority house with Roper after becoming too intoxicated at the event. The Uber driver told Boulder Police Roper changed the destination address from the sorority house to his apartment during the ride.
The Uber driver told police the woman was "passed out" for the entire ride.
When the woman didn't return to the sorority house, a group of sorority members went looking for her at Roper's apartment.
Multiple people told police they witnessed Roper sexually assaulting the woman. They described her as being "really out of it."
Roper was formally charged Thursday with two counts of sexual assault.
Students rallying for Roper's suspension say victims of sexual assault shouldn't have to sacrifice their education in fear of seeing their attacker on campus.
"I'm a survivor myself, and for them to allow people who have attacked people to be on this campus doesn't make me feel comfortable. My attacker could be the next person here, and I wouldn't feel safe leaving my house let alone coming to school," said CU student Tory Steel.
CU says they have a process in place to make sure students are safe and people are held accountable for their actions.
According to data provided by CU, the university had 19 formal investigations into non-consensual sexual intercourse last academic year. In those 19 cases, there was evidence to hold eight of the respondents responsible for their conduct. For all cases of sexual misconduct, the university suspended 11 students and expelled six students.
"We have a Title IX office that investigates all sexual misconduct reports that come into the university and they adjudicate those at the same time as a criminal complaint. They have a very fair process that respects the due process rights of everyone involved and then they come out with a resolution," said Ryan Huff, CU Boulder spokesperson.
The university says they've expanded their education programs on sexual assault and made it mandatory for incoming students to take classes on the topic.
Roper will be back in court for a preliminary hearing in April. He's currently out of bond.
