12 men charged
with 2 rapes on or near Jacksonville State University
The twelve
men ranging from the ages of 18 to 22 are charged with rape or sodomy of two female
minors on or near the campus of Jacksonville State University. After the family of one of the alleged victims filed a report to their Jacksonville Police Department, the investigation began. Some are
students at the University, and they were all detained between Sept. 17 to Sept.
30. Once detained the men were taken to the Calhoun County Jail where they remained
until all being bonded out awaiting trial. All twelve men waived their right to
a preliminary hearing, thus having their cases moved to a grand jury. According
to the Jay Harrington, an investigator with the 7th Judicial Circuit
Major Crimes, the encounters with the minors appeared to be one-on-one. Eleven
of the men were charged with second-degree rage and the twelfth with second-degree
sodomy. As for the state of Alabama, they classify second-degree rape as being
sexual intercourse between someone 16 or older with someone of the opposite sex
between age 12 to 15 with a minimum two two-year gap in their ages.
Investigators found that the men
started meeting the girls back in January and they kept in touch through “electronic
means” until Sept. 1 The girls came onto the campus in residence halls, campus
parking lots, nearby areas several times, at least 12 encounters.
Bill Broome, a lawyer to one of the men, said that one of the
girls who is 15 was portraying herself as 19 on social media who claimed to be
a transfer student and even know class schedules and instructors’ names. Jacksonville
State University’s lawyer made a statement saying, “We as an institution and as
a community are committed to maintaining a secure and trusted campus
environment for our students, employees, visitors and guests,” he said, “and we
will continue with appropriate vigilance and campus wide education.”
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