Massachusetts Daily Collegian

A free and responsible press serving the UMass community since 1890

A free and responsible press serving the UMass community since 1890

Massachusetts Daily Collegian

A free and responsible press serving the UMass community since 1890

Massachusetts Daily Collegian

Trial for last defendant in 2012 UMass gang rape set to begin next week

Jimmy Emerson/Daily Collegian
(Jimmy Emerson/Daily Collegian)

The fourth and final trial in connection with the 2012 gang rape of a then University of Massachusetts student is set to begin next week.

Jury selection will begin Monday for the trial of Caleb Womack, 20, of Windsor Locks, Connecticut, who pleaded not guilty to three counts of aggravated rape. Womack denies ever having sex with the woman, unlike his co-defendants, who said the sex was consensual, at least for a time. None of the men were UMass students at the time.

Womack’s three co-defendants – Pittsfield natives Emmanuel Bile, 21, Justin King, 21 and Adam Liccardi, 21 – have all been found guilty on charges of aggravated rape and are currently serving minimum sentences of eight years each in state prison in connection to the October 2012 incident.

During the trials of the three other men, the victim testified that she did not consent to having sex with the men as they took turns raping her in her Pierpont Hall dorm room after a night of drinking and smoking marijuana.

The victim has filed a civil suit against the four men for sexual assault, infliction of emotional distress and false imprisonment. She filed an additional suit seeking unspecified damages against the University for 22 counts of failure to protect a student. The suit also identified a resident assistant and security desk employee, alleging negligence on their part contributed to the occurrence of the gang rape.

The victim is expected to testify during Womack’s trial, as she has for the other three trials.

Anthony Rentsch can be reached at [email protected] and followed on Twitter @Anthony_Rentsch.

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