Dayton Daily News

Teen on probation in sex assault case won’t attend UD

- By Josh Sweigart

A Massachuse­tts teen who pleaded guilty to sexual assault charges received court permission to serve probation while attending college in Ohio — saying he planned to attend the University of Dayton — and won’t have to register as a sex offender.

UD officials wouldn’t discuss the issue Tuesday, but released a statement saying David Becker “will not be a student here this year.” It’s unclear whether Becker still plans to attend college in Ohio.

The Ohio Department of Rehabilita­tion and Correction says the request to transfer Becker’s probation to Ohio is being processed.

A man who answered the phone at the Massachuse­tts number listed for his home address hung up when a reporter introduced himself.

Becker, 18, was arrested in April on charges including rape after two 18-year-old females accused him of sexually assaulting them after a party. Police records say the women fell asleep on a bed and each said they awoke at some point to him penetratin­g them digitally.

He later texted one of the women saying, “Sorry, it’s my fault,” according to the police report.

Becker told police he didn’t touch one of the women, and that he was unaware the other was asleep and thought it was consensual because she didn’t protest.

Becker pleaded guilty to two reduced charges of indecent assault and battery on the condition the charges will be dropped from his record if he complies with his probation, which prohibits him from using drugs or alcohol, requires him to write a letter of apology and mandates he receive sex offender treatment.

If he violates his probation, Becker would be eligible for up to 2.5 years in prison for each charge and the judge would decide whether he must register as a sex offender.

The judge allowed Becker to serve his probation in Ohio, where Becker indicated he planned to attend UD.

Montgomery County Sheriff Phil Plummer expressed concern that someone could attend a local college campus after pleading guilty to sex offenses without having to register.

“We certainly want to protect the kids on the college campuses, and it sounds like there’s some loopholes that need to be addressed by the legislator­s,” he said Tuesday.

Becker’s case has reminded many of that of Brock Turner, the Oakwood High School graduate who will return to the Dayton area to serve probation after serving three months in jail for sexually assaulting a woman at Stanford University.

Turner was convicted, so he will have to register as a sex offender.

Earlier this year, an in-depth investigat­ion by this newspaper found that sexual assaults often go unreported on college campuses. When they are reported, they rarely lead to arrest and almost never lead to a prison sentence.

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