A suspect in the Sept. 4 University Avenue sexual assault case appeared in court Tuesday and is being held on $45,000 bail until his preliminary hearing.

Anthony Feda, 20, was charged last week by the Dane County district attorney's office for one count of kidnapping and eight counts of first-degree sexual assault. If convicted, he will most likely face a life sentence in prison.

The attack occurred on the 500 block of University Avenue behind The Vintage Bar and Grill and Ian's Pizza. Feda, along with suspect Marcus Bonner, allegedly sexually assaulted a 23-year-old female who was reportedly collecting bottle caps in the alley for an art project.

During the assault, former Ian's Pizza employee Marcus Orlando-Amaya stepped out from the back of the building and witnessed the alleged attack. After the young woman escaped, Bonner and Feda reportedly chased her into the alley behind the La Ciel apartment complex and sexually assaulted her again.

"The court has reviewed the allegations — they are at this point unproven, and [Feda] stands innocent until proven guilty otherwise," Dane County Circuit Court Commissioner Jason Hanson said. "But if they are proven, I think the likelihood of a fairly extended prison stay is pretty high … based on the vicious nature of the attack."

According to the Assistant District Attorney Mike Verveer, Feda was previously convicted of more than a half-dozen other crimes — most of them felonies — in his hometown of Waukesha. Feda is currently on probation for robbery, he added.

"This was a very, very vicious stranger sexual assault that occurred, and the defendant does have a criminal history," Verveer said.

In addition to several felony charges, Verveer said Feda has an extensive history of running from the police and regularly missing scheduled court dates. The city's police report said in previous contact with the defendant, he resisted arrest, became violent and attempted to flee from officers.

"[Feda] did indeed flee from his family's home upon the sight of officers — that is not the exception, that is the norm for him, unfortunately, in terms of his contact with police," Verveer added. "Given all that, [the state] requests a high cash bail."

Hanson set the bail at $45,000 and said Feda is to have no contact with his co-defendants and cannot enter the State Street area or East Gilman Street. Based on the defendant's habit of skipping court dates, Hanson added, the set bail is assurance Feda will attend his Oct. 9 preliminary hearing.

"Under the circumstances, there is no question that substantial cash bond is necessary to both ensure his appearance in court and protect the community from significant danger," Hanson noted.

But without the help of University of Wisconsin students Marty Ball and Jordan Stenzel, the sexual assault case may not have made as much progress as it has now. Ball said he reported the suspects, including Feda, anonymously to the police because it was the right thing to do.

"The only reason I said anything [to the police] is because it's an unfortunate situation that really shouldn't exist at all on this campus," he added. "Everyone I know would make sure it doesn't happen to anyone."

Though the students assisted the detectives in the case, Stenzel argued several facts of the incident are still unknown, but may be uncovered through fair court testimony.

"[The suspects] are my friends, and they are innocent until proven guilty," Stenzel said in an e-mail to The Badger Herald. "Now, I don't know what actually happened in this incident [but] I hope the truth does come out, whatever that truth may be."