A 22-year-old fraternity leader at Oklahoma State University is facing charges for sexual assault involving at least 11 male students over the course of one year, all of whom were reportedly sleeping when the alleged crimes took place. Investigators in Stillwater, Oklahoma have identified 11 victims so far, but believe that Nathan Cochran, a junior …
A 22-year-old fraternity leader at Oklahoma State University is facing charges for sexual assault involving at least 11 male students over the course of one year, all of whom were reportedly sleeping when the alleged crimes took place. Investigators in Stillwater, Oklahoma have identified 11 victims so far, but believe that Nathan Cochran, a junior at the university, abused many more students, all of them young men. Cochran was arrested on December 12 on three counts of sexual battery; he has denied the accusations and pleaded not guilty at a court hearing the day after his arrest. If you are facing charges for sexual assault or another sex crime in Oklahoma, contact our qualified criminal defense attorneys at Oklahoma Legal Center to protect your legal rights and build a strong defense in your case.
Sexual Abuse Allegedly Covered Up By University
According to police, Cochran has been accused of fondling one student and attempting to force him to engage in oral sex while he was sleeping. Another student claimed that he woke up to find that Cochran had put his hand down his shorts. These two stories are accompanied by many more, bringing to light a pattern of sexual abuse that dates back at least one year and was apparently covered up by university officials. Despite the fact that five students came forward with claims of sexual abuse, Oklahoma State officials never reported the alleged crimes to police, instead suspending Cochran from the university for three years and claiming that student privacy laws prevented them from disclosing the allegations to law enforcement.
Allegations Weren’t Reported to Police
Cochran was a member of the FarmHouse fraternity and the secretary of Oklahoma State University’s Interfraternity Council, which governs all sororities and fraternities on campus. The university was first notified of the students’ allegations on November 7, when the president of the FarmHouse fraternity asked university officials about the protocol for reporting sexual assault. Between November 9 and November 28, five male students came forward to report that Cochran had sexually assaulted them. Although OSU Vice-President Gary Clark, who is in charge of student affairs, was present when the students came forward, he never reported the allegations to police.
Contact Our Defense Attorneys for Help
The day after he received a phone call about the abuse allegations, police Captain Randy Dickerson launched a criminal investigation, at which point more victims from the FarmHouse fraternity came forward and named Cochran as their alleged attacker. If you have been accused of sexual assault or another sex crime in Oklahoma, your first course of action should be to contact our knowledgeable defense attorneys at Oklahoma Legal Center. Our team of skilled criminal defense lawyers have extensive experience protecting the rights of those charged with sex crimes in the state, and will work diligently to help you defend yourself in your case. Don’t leave your future up to chance; contact our Oklahoma City-based law firm today.