A Longmeadow man faces charges of aggravated rape after an alleged attack outside of the University of Massachusetts Campus Center in early September.
According to the Northwestern District Attorney’s Office, Patrick Durocher, 18, allegedly raped the female victim while forcibly holding her against her will in the early hours of Sept. 2. Both the victim and Durocher were UMass students at the time.
Durocher pleaded not guilty during his arraignment hearing on Oct. 4. The judge ordered Durocher to be held on $10,000 cash bail. His release conditions are that he must submit to GPS monitoring, keep a 9 p.m. to 5 a.m. curfew, report to a probation officer once a week, stay in Massachusetts and reside with his parents, have no contact with the alleged victim, stay away from the UMass campus, refuse to take drugs and alcohol and submit to random screenings and tests.
According to court records, the UMass Police Department responded to an emergency call at about 1:15 a.m. on the north side of the Campus Center involving a man standing over a woman on the ground, the Daily Hampshire Gazette reported. Witnesses told police that the woman appeared to be unconscious and unresponsive and the man on top of her was naked from the waist down.
The alleged victim told UMPD in a statement on Sept. 3 that she had attended a party on North Pleasant St. on Sept. 1 and then left the party alone around 11:45 p.m., the Gazette reported.
The woman said that she was walking past a bus stop near the Campus Center when Durocher called out to her. She had never met Durocher before.
According to court records, Durocher then approached the alleged victim, grabbed her and assaulted her. The woman suffered injuries according to court files, the Gazette reported.
She told police that Durocher forced her to the ground and raped her outside of the Campus Center.
This is the first reported rape allegation on campus leading to criminal charges of this school year and the third in the past 12 months. Four men allegedly raped a female UMass student in her dorm in October 2012 and have all pleaded not guilty to the multiple counts of aggravated rape that they face.
UMass student Weiling Wang has also pleaded not guilty to charges of rape and indecent assault and battery after allegedly raping a woman who he had signed into his room in the North Apartments.
