Grand Jury Declines To Indict 5 Students Accused In William Paterson University Sex Assault
PATERSON, N.J. (CBSNewYork/AP) -- A grand jury has declined to indict five students who were accused of sexually assaulting a woman in a dormitory at William Paterson University.
As WCBS 880's Alex Silverman reported, the allegations were horrific. Court documents accused the students of blocking a dorm room door on the Wayne, New Jersey campus, turning off the lights, and demanding that she have sex with all five of them.
But this week, a grand jury declined to indict the five 18-year-old freshmen -- Jahmel Latimer, of Hoboken, Darius Singleton, of Jersey City, Garret Collick, of Paterson, Noah Williams, of Camden, and Tremaine Scott, of Vineland.
Grand Jury Declines To Indict 5 Students Accused In William Paterson University Sex Assault
All charges against the young men were dropped.
They all pleaded not guilty to the charges in December.
"I don't want to get in the specifics. I don't think that's appropriate," said Ronald Ricci, an attorney for one of the students. "But it was obviously not a crime and obviously not a sexual assault."
Ricci said the university expelled his client before the wheels of justice could turn.
"They made comments," Ricci said. "They went to the press, they said they were guilty. They wrote letters to the entire student body basically suggesting they were guilty."
William Paterson President Kathleen Waldron said in a statement that the university respects the decision, but added that the university has its own disciplinary process that will "continue."
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