Editor’s Note: This article includes mention of sexual assault.
Kalp Patel, a former IU student who was arrested on charges that he attempted to rape his female residential assistant in January 2022, pleaded guilty to criminal confinement and was sentenced to 1 ½ years of unsupervised probation last Thursday.
As part of the plea deal, charges against Patel for rape, strangulation, sexual battery, battery resulting in bodily injury, resisting law enforcement and possession of alcohol as a minor will be dropped, according to the case summary.
Patel will serve 546 days, approximately 1 ½ years, of unsupervised probation active May 18, 2023, until Nov. 14, 2024. Patel will not serve jail time.
Patel is banned from the IU Bloomington campus.
On Jan. 16, 2022, a female residential assistant was alerted that Patel was allegedly screaming inside his dorm at Union Street Center Birch Hall and went to check on the student. According to WTHR, after knocking on the door and waiting several minutes for a response, the residential assistant used a master key to enter the dorm room, where she then called 911 after finding Patel slumped over his desk.
The resident assistant told police Patel then suddenly attacked her and allegedly tried to rape her. Initial coverage of the arrest states the residential assistant was able to fight Patel off until IUPD officers arrived at the dorm and took him into custody. Patel was transported to IU Health Bloomington Hospital, then to the Monroe County Correctional Facility.
According to WTHR, Patel told IUPD officers he took two THC-laced gummy bears at a nearby apartment unit before returning to his dorm at Union Street Center. After consuming the gummy bears, Patel told police he felt like he was in a dream, attempting to “have fun” with the residential assistant. He then stated he saw random shapes and two “gangsters” enter his room.
