Caleb Womack, the fourth man to stand trial in connection with the rape of a former University of Massachusetts student in the fall of 2012, plead guilty to reduced charges just as jury selection was about to begin in Hampshire Superior Court Monday morning.
Womack agreed to plead guilty to reduced charges of indecent assault and battery of a person over 14, as well as one count of rape. He was initially charged with three counts of aggravated rape causing serious bodily injury, and had previously plead not guilty before reaching a plea deal Monday morning.
Womack, 20, will serve two consecutive two-and-a-half year sentences – for a total of five years – in House of Corrections, followed by 10-years of GPS-monitored probation. He was facing up to 30 years in prison if he faced his initial three charges of aggravated rape, according to MassLive.
MassLive also reported that Womack would have to serve the maximum sentences for his crimes if he commits another crime while on parole, and that he will also have to register as a sex offender.
Womack’s three co-defendants – Emmanuel Bile, Justin King and Adam Liccardi, all of Pittsfield – were previously convicted of raping a former UMass student in her Pierpont Hall dorm room, and are all serving state prison sentences.
Prior to his trial, Womack denied ever having sex with the victim. The three other men all admitted to engaging in intercourse with the then-freshman, but all three claimed it was consensual.
The victim, who testified in front of a jury in the other three trials and was expected to take the stand in Womack’s, said the four men took turns raping her in her dorm room while she was incapacitated after a night of consuming alcohol and smoking marijuana in October 2012. She testified the men only left once she began to cry loudly, and that Liccardi then returned later in the night and raped her again.
The victim was in court Monday for Womack’s trial, but did not testify or deliver an impact statement, according to MassLive.
She has also filed civil lawsuits seeking damages against all four men in Hampshire Superior Court, in addition to civil suits against the University of Massachusetts and two of its employees.
Anthony Rentsch can be reached at [email protected] and followed on Twitter @Anthony_Rentsch.
