Sex offender still enrolled at UConn
A University of Connecticut student who has pleaded guilty to sexually assaulting a 14-year-old girl and has a pending charge for an alleged on-campus sexual assault last year remains enrolled in the school, a university official confirmed this week.
Leonardo Villanes-Medina, 23, will appear Thursday in state Superior Court in Rockville where he is facing a fourth-degree sexual assault charge in connection with an October 2021 incident with a fellow student in his UConn dorm room, according to his arrest warrant. Villanes-Medina, who is from Sharon, has not entered a plea to the misdemeanor charge.
In a separate case, Villanes-Medina has pleaded guilty to second-degree sexual assault, a felony, and is facing other pending charges related to the 2018 sexual assaults of a 14-yearold girl in Salisbury, according to his arrest warrant.
Stephanie Reitz, a UConn spokesperson, said VillanesMedina remains enrolled at the school.
Citing the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA), Reitz declined to comment on whether the university has issued sanctions or initiated student conduct reviews against Villanes-Medina. The university is investigating the situation and declined to release any further records.
In general, Reitz said an arrest is not immediate grounds for a sanction, but an on-campus disciplinary review process can occur while a student’s legal case moves through the court system.
She declined to comment on Villanes-Medina’s specific case due to FERPA.
“Regardless of the outcome of a court case, students can still face discipline up to and including expulsion if their actions are shown to have violated the Student Code of Conduct,” Reitz said.
“It is highly unlikely that a student found responsible for sexual misconduct would receive the sanction of a university warning. The precedent regarding sexual assault is university expulsion,” she added.
If the review process determines someone is responsible for violating the student code, the university can implement various disciplinary measures like issuing a warning, placing the student on probation or even suspension or expulsion. The student can file an appeal, but the university can still implement other conduct actions like loss of housing privileges while the appeal is pending, Reitz said.
Alleged rape in UConn dorm
In November 2021, a student filed a complaint with UConn police about an alleged rape that occurred the previous month in a dorm room on the main Storrs campus. In October 2021, the student had been at a friend’s apartment and was planning to meet up with Villanes-Medina later that night, according to a statement the woman provided to UConn police in the arrest warrant.
Villanes-Medina brought the student back to his dorm room after he had been studying that night, the warrant stated. The female student told police she was intoxicated and was trying to take a nap in VillanesMedina’s room, the warrant stated. Villanes-Medina had been sober at the time, the student noted and VillanesMedina later confirmed to police.
“Villanes-Medina then initiated sex with her,” the warrant said. “(The victim) was still very drunk and could not consent to the sex.”
After a few minutes, the female student became “unconscious” and VillanesMedina continued to have sex with her, and at one point, covered her face with a shirt, according to the warrant. When she awoke, the student said she slapped Villanes-Medina and started to cry, telling him to get away from her, the warrant stated.
The student said she did not consent and was not able to consent, the warrant stated.
The woman’s statement, summarized in the warrant, indicates that VillanesMedina got back on the bed again with her permission.
“Villanes-Medina and (the victim) begin to have sex again,” the warrant said. “She is still very intoxicated and after a while asked Villanes-Medina to stop. Villanes-Medina does not stop and says he is about to finish.”
The student told VillanesMedina to stop a second time, but he disregarded her, the warrant stated.
During their investigation, UConn police interviewed a second student who said Villanes-Medina touched her breasts without consent more than once, the warrant stated. However, those accusations have not resulted in charges against Villanes-Medina as of Wednesday.
Attorney William T. Gerace, who is representing Villanes-Medina in the UConn case, declined to comment.
Guilty plea in sex assault of 14-year-old
Villanes-Medina is also facing charges of sexually assaulting a 14-year-old girl in off-campus incidents in December 2018 in Salisbury, according to his arrest warrant in that case. VillanesMedina, who graduated from Housatonic Valley High School in 2018, was 19 and in his first semester at UConn when the alleged incidents occurred, according to Reitz.
Connecticut State Police arrested Villanes-Medina in November 2019 on two counts of illicit sexual contact with a child, risk of injury to a child and two counts of second-degree sexual assault, the warrant stated.
Villanes-Medina has pleaded guilty to one count of second-degree sexual assault, a felony, and not guilty to the other charges in the case. He is scheduled to appear Jan. 6 for these charges in state Superior Court in Torrington, judicial records show.
State police began an investigation after the girl’s mother filed a report in March 2019 after she found text messages on her daughter’s phone about the “morning-after pill,” the warrant stated. The teen’s mother also gave state police her daughter’s cellphone and permission to search the device.
During an interview with state police, the girl acknowledged the age difference between her and Villanes-Medina. When speaking about the first incident in December 2018, the minor said she “kind of blocked everything out,” according to the warrant. She also said Villanes-Medina did not wear a condom and, according to text messages on the girl’s phone, he had a friend drop off the morning-after pill at her house.
In an interview with state police, Villanes-Medina initially denied having sex with the girl, but eventually acknowledged he had sex with her on two separate occasions in December 2018, the warrant stated. VillanesMedina declined to provide a written statement. Per state law, the age of consent in Connecticut is 16.
The Moynahan Law Firm, which is representing Villanes-Medina in the 2019 case, did not respond to requests for comment.
Citing FERPA, Reitz declined to comment about whether the university was aware of these charges.
Reitz said she is unable to discuss specifics regarding individual students, “including information included in a student’s application and admission records, or learned after the student’s enrollment.”
Reitz said UConn does not conduct criminal background checks on applicants or students who are offered or accept enrollment. The school receives more than 40,000 applications for enrollment each year, she said.
In February, hundreds of UConn students staged a walkout in response to how the school has handled sexual assault investigations. This prompted UConn to establish a task force to evaluate how the university prevents and responds to sexual violence, including how it supports its students and make recommendations in a final report.
UConn offers a number of on-campus resources and services to support those who have been affected by sexual violence, relationship violence and stalking.
Those who have suffered from sexual violence can speak to specialists for support, information, advice or a referral by calling the free and confidential National Sexual Assault Hotline at 800-656-HOPE (4673). Those who wish to chat online with trained specialists, which is also free and confidential, can also go to RAINN.org/Get-Help. Help is available 24/7.
To report cases of child exploitation, visit www.CyberTipline.com.