Berkeley police: Drug was used in Cal fraternity rape case

Delta Upsilon at UC Berkeley. Image: Google maps

Update, July 5, 2016: The student’s name has been removed at his request due to the finding of factual innocence.

Update, Oct. 17: The case against the student has been dismissed, and he has been exonerated and found factually innocent.

Original story, Oct. 7: A 20-year-old UC Berkeley student has been charged with raping a woman at a Cal fraternity in late September who also had been drugged, according to authorities.

The Alameda County district attorney’s office charged him this week with rape by use of drugs, in that he “did unlawfully have and accomplish an act of sexual intercourse with a person … where said person was prevented by resisting by an intoxicating, anesthetic, and controlled substance.”

According to court papers, he was aware of the woman’s compromised condition Sept. 27 but had sex with her anyway.

The charge is classified as a serious and violent felony, and brings with it stiff penalties.

A conviction would require him to register as a sex offender for the rest of his life.

In addition, his sentence would be served in state prison if he is found guilty of the allegation.

He also would be forced by the court, if convicted, to undergo a blood test for AIDS, and submit other samples and specimens for law enforcement identification analysis.

The woman who reported the rape is not named in court documents because of the nature of the crime, and due to privacy laws that protect victims of sexual violence.

He is scheduled to enter a plea Thursday, Oct. 9, at 9 a.m. at the Wiley W. Manuel Courthouse in downtown Oakland, in department 112. He has already been arraigned.

Police arrested him Thursday night during a search of the Delta Upsilon fraternity affiliated with UC Berkeley. Police say the fraternity, at 2425 Warring St., between Channing Way and Dwight Way, is where the rape took place.

By Friday, he had posted a $100,000 bond and was no longer in custody.

According to his Facebook page, he is from Beijing, China, and previously attended Escola Americana de Brasilia and the International School of Beijing.

The incident was one of three sexual assaults of women reported that same night near Cal in the “south campus” area. Authorities linked the student to only one of them, police said. No information regarding the other cases has been released.

According to the University of California Police Department’s annual report, which was released last week, there were 33 forcible sexual offenses related to campus reported last year, 23 the prior year, and 45 in 2011. Those included incidents on campus, in student housing, off campus and on public property.

Off-campus incidents, which can include those in fraternities and sororities, in the co-ops and at University Village in Albany, increased from seven in 2012 to 17 in 2013.

Read more about the arrest, and see safety tips suggested by authorities in relation to sexual violence.

Authorities have asked anyone with information about these cases to call the Berkeley Police Department’s Special Victims Unit at 510-981-5735. Callers who wish to remain anonymous can contact Bay Area Crime Stoppers at 800-222-TIPS (8477).

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Emilie Raguso