Two days after University of Wisconsin students protested sexual assault on campus, an 18-year-old student was arrested for that very same crime.
Alec Shiva, a freshman from Verona, has been arrested for second degree sexual assault, battery, false imprisonment, strangulation, disorderly conduct and criminal damage to property.
All of the above charges will be referred to the Dane County District Attorney’s Office, UW Police Department spokesperson Marc Lovicott said.
Thursday evening at around 8 p.m., UWPD responded to a residence hall for a report of sexual assault, according to the UW Police Department incident report.
The victim told UWPD officers that Shiva strangled her, held her against her will and sexually assaulted her in his room.
A timeline of Alec Cook’s criminal complaints, legal proceedings
When she was eventually able to break free, she called the police.
A bystander had confronted Shiva about the sexual assault after seeing the victim in distress. Shiva broke a mirror and other UW property in his room and then attempted to punch the bystander.
The bystander avoided an altercation with Shiva and returned to the victim to help her.
Shiva is currently being placed under emergency suspension, UW spokesperson Meredith McGlone said.
In an email to The Badger Herald, McGlone said UW is committed to preventing sexual violence.
The university also takes all appropriate steps under campus policies and Wisconsin State Legislature Chapter 17, including emergency suspension where warranted, to protect the safety of individual students and the campus community and to hold responsible individuals accountable, she added.
“Based on the severity of the allegations and the potential impact on the campus community, the university is disclosing that this student is under emergency suspension from the institution,” McGlone said.
