The University of Massachusetts Police Department has made an arrest in connection with the alleged rape that occurred Friday, March 11 in John Quincy Adams, a high-rise residential dormitory in Southwest.
UMPD Deputy Chief of Police Patrick Archbald confirmed in a phone interview that Victor Rodriguez, 21, of 116 Woodycrest Avenue, Southbridge, Mass., was arrested on charges of rape and breaking and entering into a building during the nighttime to commit a felony the same day of the crime. Rodriguez is a full-time student at UMass who was residing in JQA at the time of the rape.
Mid-Friday morning, the UMass community received emergency texts and emails stating that a sexual assault had occurred on campus and detectives were looking for the perpetrator. Based on witness testimony, officers were able to develop a profile of the suspect – the description listed the perpetrator as being male, Hispanic or “partially black,” about 5-feet, 6-inches tall, with thick, curly black hair tied back in a ponytail, and wearing gym clothes and a headband.
“Based on that description, we started to get a number of responses back via text and email from people who thought they might know who the suspect was,” said Archbald.
Rodriguez began to emerge as a suspect as a result of the investigation into these tips. Detectives met with him for a “one-on-one interview,” which culminated in his confession to the crime.
Subsequently, Rodriguez was arrested for the rape and breaking and entering charges and transported to the Hampshire County House of Corrections, where he spent the weekend. Bail was set at $50,000, and he was indicted the following Monday morning. He has since been trespassed from University property.
– Collegian News Staff
Yevin Roh • Mar 5, 2012 at 12:56 am
This is a very dangerous and sick man. As class president I will make sure he never returns to the UMass campus.
Captain Obvious • Apr 20, 2011 at 10:17 pm
The only thing appalling about this article is the grammar. “Trespassed from University property” How did this get past an editor?
Reader • Apr 16, 2011 at 12:49 pm
I can’t believe the number of articles out there that are published without sufficient evidence and information. Not only are articles like these poorly written but it makes me question the staff panel who allows it to go through. Also, how do these writers even get the privilege of writing about topics they don’t even have adequate knowledge of?
S. • Apr 11, 2011 at 9:16 pm
if you you knew anything you would know how sharing an opinion is always okay but speaking with conviction w/o knowing facts is just ignorant.
I’m not saying I know all facts either – I just know to speak with conviction one only when I know them, and after having looked over the responses all I see accusing with speculation only.
DibIbblmyer • Apr 11, 2011 at 3:08 pm
I like how butthurt all his friends are getting though. Clearly, the newspaper is just making stuff up because they hate Victor for some reason. CLEARLY.
X • Apr 9, 2011 at 10:49 am
Coming from someone who was sexually assaulted by a so-called “nice guy” who everyone loved, I take huge offense to anyone who is standing up for him. You people are the exact reason I never told anyone about it, because people like you would defend him and say oh no, he would never do anything like that. He’s such a good guy. Well guess what, he’s not. He didn’t have a lapse in judgment. If he actually did it (and it sounds like he did because he CONFESSED) then stop making excuses for him.
Nate LaMay • Apr 5, 2011 at 10:32 pm
I’ve known Victor for a long time. We’re both from the same hometown and went to school together all our lives. I honestly have nothing, but respect for the kid. When I heard this story it was very surprising to me and found it extremely difficult to believe. Regardless of anything though I do not think it is right for this pathetic excuse of a newspaper to trash his reputation like this. He has spent his whole life devoted to academics and extracurricular activities. I’m totally appalled by the Collegian’s slanderous reporting. At least wait until there has been a firm legal decision in the case, regardless if he has “confessed” or not, before you flaunt his picture and address like he is a convicted sex offender.
Christine • Apr 5, 2011 at 11:29 am
I just want to point out that in cases like these, UMPD (or and PD for that matter) will edit out the description of the sexual assault or rape when releasing it to the public to catch an offender, it is done to protect alleged victims. So, making assumptions about what happened based on the campus alert is incorrect and it does not contain all relevant information to the case.
Secondly, what UMPD may coin as “sexual assault” the DA’s office may decide is rape when charging the alleged assailant. What a lot of people don’t know is that any penetration of genital areas is considered rape, regardless if the alleged assailant used his genitals, another body part or even and inanimate object. So while the crime alert may have said sexual assault, the DA may have charged the alleged assailant with the knowledge that penetration occurred.
Jarred • Apr 4, 2011 at 8:13 pm
A lot of these comments are just frankly stupid.
1. the door was a jar. How do I know this? Because it is public information so I don’t care what rumors people have heard, it is in the police report. This doesn’t excuse anything but lets set the rumors straight.
2. Just because the Collegian is confusing doesn’t mean it is wrong. And this isn’t really the fault of the Collegian. Understand something. You all go to a public university meaning that when something happens here there are so many privacy laws that apply you can barely find out what happened. This is to protect everyone in the case, both the alleged offender and the alleged victim. So there is VERY little the Collegian can tell you at all.
3. The UMPD don’t press charges or bring people to court. The UMPD might have ARRESTED him for sexual assault but that does not mean those are his charges. The District Attorney’s Office is who sets the charges based on the facts of the case. So you could easily be arrested for something and be charged for something else entirely.
4. I really like Victor but no one knows anything. Let’s repeat. No one knows anything about this case that could be used to show what really happened. So can we please stop taking sides and allow the system to do its work.
RA Alum • Apr 4, 2011 at 2:15 pm
RA’s aren’t allowed to enter a room unless invited in. Otherwise its invasion of privacy. If the door was slightly open, at that hour, I would have pulled it closed. I don’t know the relationship between the two parties but if they were friends, sounds like they weren’t, that privacy rule usually disappears out of trust. I’m not sure if you can really pin rape or sexual assault on what was mentioned in the Campus Alert email. Sure standing over a girl while shes sleeping is sketchy as all get out, but I don’t think its grounds for the amount of “publicity” this kid got(is getting). In terms of RA status, that would be kissed goodbye though. No resident would trust him.
WOW • Apr 4, 2011 at 1:56 pm
S, that was written before he confessed. It has since been published in other news sources he confessed. So yes, they have made an arrest in JQA rape case.
Taylor G • Apr 4, 2011 at 1:02 pm
S:actually all cases are “alleged” until they come before the court and proven either way
Incredible • Apr 4, 2011 at 8:45 am
Disgusted by the repetition of denials in Victor’s defense. There was a confession made. Whether or not his affiliates believe he would do it does not change his actions. He committed an outrageous crime and should be dealt the harshest punishments allowable based on his deed.
S. • Apr 4, 2011 at 3:16 am
read the title: ALLEGED JQA rape case…my interpretation is that he confessed to being the perpetrator – otherwise the title would read “umpd make arrest in JQA rape case”
WOW • Apr 3, 2011 at 2:48 pm
…because he confessed? So no, we know that there was more “than standing over some girl.” Your entire comment was all about poor victor. HE. CONFESSED. and you likened it to something like a “behavioral moment” that we all have. NO. NOT EVERYONE JUST DOES THIS.
S. • Apr 3, 2011 at 1:33 am
^ I should say “all the facts” rather than the “truth”
S. • Apr 3, 2011 at 1:31 am
Why would you say “wow”? All we know so far is a guy stood over girl. Till I know more, I cannot side one way or the other……..THERE IS SOME SHITTY REPORTING and until I know the truth I stand by my statement
WOW • Apr 2, 2011 at 6:48 am
It doesn’t matter if the key was slightly open it is NOT his room.
Also,
” In an interview with UMPD detectives Rodriguez confessed to the committing the charges.”
Can we stop sticking up for this guy? I believe in innocent until proven guilty, but he has confessed.
taylor G • Apr 2, 2011 at 6:43 am
To J:
Totally disagree. Not sure how you would have access to the police report unless you are part of the investigation somehow and if you are a part, not sure why you would publish these details unless already made public by the police. I don’t know. From “rumors” I heard, the door was shut not “slightly open.
I think the fact that he was an RA is completely relevant for the reasons I said. It no way ..no way!! sheds a negative light on RAs as group, not at all. The majority,I believe act responsibly. You make an interesting point,though. Perhaps his action has taken more than one victim. The initial victim, plus some of the RAs, his team mates, who now feel negatively impacted. Even if I didnt write anything, they could still have felt impacted at the time of the incident and beyond. They shouldn’t have to.
And what about how the women in the dorm might have felt fear in their dorm ( their home!!) during the hours prior to knowing someone was apprehended.. Lots of effects on people. Sort of like how a small earthquake can create a tsumami felt half way around the world.
J • Apr 1, 2011 at 6:02 pm
To the person stating that he was a RA, that is not something that needs to be published. The reason I say that is that there was NO force entry into the room, there was no key used; in fact, the door was slightly open. And those are not my words, but the information from the police report. That being said, it just so happened that he was a RA, but providing that information is irrelevant, and paints other RAs in a negative light.
WOW • Apr 1, 2011 at 5:08 pm
WOW S. SERIOUSLY? Wow.
S. • Apr 1, 2011 at 1:38 pm
I just want to say, whatever actually happened in JQA this night, this is a situation is lose-lose. I feel for the victim because she now has this lifetime memory to deal with but I also feel for the suspect. I know him, and he is not the kind of guy that this behavior would be expected from. He has a good heart and is a smart guy. After having spoken with many about this, I know they still respect Victor as person who like everybody else, make mistakes. Even though all that is known so far is mostly speculation, that speculation still makes this a mistake of greater magnitude – but we still know that this was a out of character moment for him.
I agree with everyone here regarding the Collegians unprofessionalism. I’m proud of Umass and strides it’s making to be a top-tier university and therefore think administration needs to seriously reconsider the Collegians editing and mindfulness of its articles regarding their premature accusations, regardless of the speculation. It does not reflect well on on a university when their published articles raise more questions rather than tell a story.
My heart goes out to you Vic, many others including myself, know we have had behavioral moments that lie outside our norm… “No matter how cold the winter, There’s a spring time ahead”.
Anonymous • Apr 1, 2011 at 12:57 pm
It said a sexual assault was committed, and that he admitted to the crime…so where all this confusion is coming from is really unclear. If he is being charged with rape obviously something occurred that night. There are no details in this article so no one can draw conclusions to what did or didnt happen that night. Reading through all of the comments everyone has jumped to the conclusion that he is innocent, and granted one is innocent until proven guilty-but it seems that the police have enough evidence to charge him with rape and breaking and entering. I think we should leave it up to the police and the court verdict to decifer if he is guilty or not.
Tiffany • Mar 31, 2011 at 9:10 pm
Since when does standing in a room equal rape?
reader • Mar 31, 2011 at 6:45 pm
The only stories I’ve heard about him are good ones, except this. He’s a smart guy with a lot of friends. Innocent or guilty or somewhere in between this article still seems very biased. And just to add, you put someones info on the sex offender registry AFTER they’ve been convicted. Also, don’t go around saying “he confessed” without specifying what he confessed to.
APALLED • Mar 31, 2011 at 6:08 pm
If someone steals my car I CAN NOT charge them with MURDER!!!! Have any of you read the email that UMASS itself sent out…1st off the email read “she woke up and found him standing over her”, that’s not RAPE. Secondly because the dumb ass UMPD arrested him on RAPE doesn’t mean it was RAPE. Details are necessary because you are releasing this information out into the public and we want to read sensible truth. At no point in the email do you think “sexual assault”. Wait until the full story comes out because, trust me, the collegian will be submitting corrections. And I totally agree J, the COLLEGIAN STAFF needs to step up. You were quick to spill this kids name and address in your paper how about you guys sign yours after writing an article! Umass needs to step up too because once again you guys expelled another student before all the facts just like Jason Vassell. GUILTY UNTIL PROVEN INNOCENT
Gene Levitzky • Mar 31, 2011 at 5:06 pm
I went to high school with Victor, and while I haven’t been that close with him in the last few years, I still have serious doubts about this. The article is far too ambiguous for me to make any judgement calls, and I’ll reserve any condemnation until I hear what the court has to say. Innocent until proven guilty.
taylor G • Mar 31, 2011 at 3:11 pm
A lot of male opinions here. Well here are some female thoughts
1.This article is rather silly and confusing- was it entering, was it rape or something in between. Raises a lot of questions more than answers, but that’s media for you lately. Listen to TV or internet news and you may not get much better
2.Although Im not sure why the paper published his address and name, I would bet the police have a lot more information about the situation which they are saving to protect the rights of both the suspect and the victim.
3.What I find most disgusting though is a VERY IMPORTANT fact the newspaper seems to have left out ( on purpose??) that this suspect was a RA in this dorm. This means he was given a trust and responsibility toward the dorm and the students. He would have access to dorm rooms. He would hold confidences of students who came to him for comfort and advice. So regardless if he entered the wrong room, was drunk and all the other reasons you guys say, this is a serious broken trust and disgusting
Dan • Mar 31, 2011 at 11:37 am
If he is convicted he will get a 10 to 15 year bid upstate and be a sex offender. Do not do the crime if you can not do the time. If you have heard stores about him around campus he is not the person everyone thinks he is. Also they put his picture up because it is public knowledge lets not have a sex offender registry and have more sexual crimes.
Mike Oram • Mar 31, 2011 at 11:04 am
This case is not a race issue, a white male would have received the same treatment from the collegian and its staff. The collegian did its homework, they checked with UMPD who confirmed he was arrested on RAPE and breaking and entering charges. (If you read the story you would know that). Even if Mr. Rodriguez was standing in the room, that is still not okay.
john • Mar 31, 2011 at 8:50 am
i dont believe it victor wouldn’t do that. he probably accidentally walked into the wrong room. this is wrong. this is an outrage.
ac • Mar 31, 2011 at 7:49 am
just because the log didn’t mention physical contact doesn’t mean that it didn’t actually happen. obviously they aren’t going to write up the details of this poor girl’s assault (or whatever it was) for all of the umass community to read and think nothing of. and this has nothing to do with the student being black. the girl was smart and gave an accurate description of the guy… a guy who, trust me, a lot of people know. i mean seriously he’s 5’6″ with an afro and if anyone out there knows victor, he’s always wearing gym clothes. it’s just too bad the kid really screwed up his future… he’s too smart for that.
Logic • Mar 31, 2011 at 7:29 am
Though I agree it is never appropriate to jump to conclusions about what did or did not happen in a case, it saddens me that in cases of sexual assault we immediately jump to “he did not do it.” None of us know what happened that night except for the people who were there. I understand how frustrating and absolute BS it is that reports are often very much about race, and also how awful the Collegian is at reporting the facts. I just ask that we respect the fact that we cannot know what truly happened, so we do not jump to conclusions on either side. Things can go wrong, perhaps it originally said sexual assault but it was corrected to be a rape. What we should do is ask the Collegian to clarify if there language was wrong or if in fact it was a rape.
Supporter • Mar 31, 2011 at 12:10 am
Vic is an amazing person beyond anyone I have met in my life. His name should not be slandered by some Collegian rag coward, or the unethical UMPD. Show some facts before you ruin someone’s life. The editorial staff of the Collegian have often demonstrated their incompetence. Is this how you redeem yourselves for running the Planned Parent hood opinion piece? I’ve got news for you all. When this is over, UMass students won’t even pick up the Collegian to do the crossword you stole from the LA Times.
disgusted • Mar 30, 2011 at 11:47 pm
this article is ridiculous and doesn’t add up to the accusations that were made. how does someone who doesn’t touch someone else classify for rape. and you might also wanna specify to which crime he confessed to cause there’s a list. i understand these are college kids who write these articles, but you would think that there is some type supervisor to clean up this poorly written story. get on your shit UMass
JC • Mar 30, 2011 at 10:30 pm
http://www.umass.edu/umpd/alerts/ca/
COLLEGIAN: GET YOUR FACTS STRAIGHT!
This article is the perfect example of slander! You have just completely trashed this person’s name. Not to mention there was a picture of him included in the printed article.
If there was physical contact or a rape, and subsequent rape kit done, I would be all for justice. However, you need to get it right. This is ridiculous.
If cleared of charges, this story will still prevent him from being hired in any career.
Fantastic job Collegian. Just ruined another bright future.
Rape? Really? • Mar 30, 2011 at 10:26 pm
Wow, I can understand Breaking and Entering but damn
Reader • Mar 30, 2011 at 7:56 pm
Firstly, I hope that the police had informed the defendent about his Miranda rights before the phone interview was conducted. Secondly, I hoped that the defendent was not intoxicated when he was influenced by the policy to answer biased/non-biased questions.
Last, I want to assert several questions here.
1. The case is still under investigation, then why does Collegian make it sound concluded?
2. With the first question stated, Collegian and the Police publicized the defendant’s home address and identity before the case is settled, which makes not only the defendant but also his families vulnerable to any rehabilitation. Is this just and proper?
Captain Obvious • Mar 30, 2011 at 6:03 pm
“He has since been trespassed from University property”
Really, how much lazier can the writing at the Collegian get?
BS • Mar 30, 2011 at 4:06 pm
People get drunk and walk into the wrong room in dorms all the time. They all look the same, especially late at night. Hell Ive done it and had people walk into my room by mistake while I was on campus. This just doesnt make sense.
Reader • Mar 30, 2011 at 3:42 pm
Don’t believe everything that you read.
Joe Schwah • Mar 30, 2011 at 12:40 pm
I agree with that guy. No where in the report does it mention any physical contact. I have no idea how rape can be interpreted from that. I also don’t think it’s right to include a picture of the guy with the article because if it turns out that he is, in fact, innocent his face will still be associated with rape. That’s just not right.
J • Mar 30, 2011 at 11:16 am
Last comment I’ll make… If you are going to be a writer, own up to your work. Don’t publish an article under “Collegian News Staff” because you may face criticism. Own what you write. Unless the entire news staff wrote this article together, it shouldn’t be labeled as such.
J • Mar 30, 2011 at 10:53 am
I wonder if the Daily Collegian would have even made an effort to publish anything if this had been a Caucasian male… I recall of several incidents on campus in which no coverage was made, all involving White males.
J • Mar 30, 2011 at 10:52 am
How could it have been breaking and entering into a building, if he was a resident of JQA? Also, there is a big difference between a rape and sexual assault; the police log clearly states it was a sexual assault, so describing this incident as a ‘rape’ is unfair to both the alleged perpetrator and the victim. I think it’s ridiculous, yet typical of the collegian, to use that language, when again, the police log states it was an alleged sexual assault. Yet another story about a minority involved in an incident taken too far.
Johnny Jay • Mar 30, 2011 at 12:52 am
Again, I ask the question…how is it rape or sexual assault if no physical contact was made? He was in the room, she woke up, he bolted. That should be conspiracy or something to that effect!