The women who accused former Indiana University student John Enochs of rape last year are now suing the university in federal court, claiming that the school failed to take action on prior allegations of sexual assault by the defendant. John Enochs, a former fraternity member was given one year probation as part of a plea deal after facing charges related to rape of two female students that occurred 18 months apart. However, the police failed to add crucial information in the affidavit of probable cause that might’ve acquitted the defendant if he had been tried by a jury.
ABOUT THE DEFENDANT
• Indiana University in Bloomington
• Former member of Delta Tau Delta
• Interned at BMO Harris Bank in Chicago
• Father is a managing director at BMO Global Asset Management
• Father also attended Indiana University to study accounting
• Police conducted a raid at the fraternity in March of 2015 where police discovered 1,000 Xanax tablets belonging to another student, Andrew Thrall, who was convicted for dealing a controlled substance & sentenced to a three year prison term
FIRST RAPE ALLEGATION
- Charged with rape in two separate cases in September
- More recent episode took place April 11, 2015, at a party hosted by Mr. Enoch’s fraternity
- The girl told police she was drinking at the party, she entered the house looking for a bathroom
- She later found herself in a room with an unknown male having sex with her, despite her telling him “no” & attempting to free herself
- Video surveillance showed her entering and exiting the room with Mr. Enochs
- DNA confirmed they had sex, according to court documents
- The girl suffered a laceration in the genital area
SECOND RAPE ALLEGATION
- The second girl came forward and pursued criminal charges against him after learning about the 2015 allegations
- The woman said she had blacked out while drinking with Mr. Enochs in her sorority house in October 2013 & friends informed her that he had sex with her
- The 2013 was difficult to prove because the woman had no specific recollection of that night, because of her consumption of alcohol
THE RESULT
- After the 2015 rape allegation, the university placed the fraternity chapter on social restrictions for six months
- Mr. Enochs accepted a plea deal in which the felony charges were dismissed
- He was sentenced for a year’s probation with no prison time; despite the one night he spent in jail before posting bail
- Prosecutors had sought a felony charge but, because of Mr. Enoch’s age and lack of prior criminal convictions, a judge reduced the charge to a misdemeanor
- “The most frustrating aspect of this case is the fact that there were two unrelated complaints against the defendant, but neither was sufficient to prove rape,” said Robert T. Miller, chief deputy prosecuting attorney for Monroe County, Indiana.
WHAT MEDIA LEFT OUT
- Surveillance footage from the 2015 incident shows the alleged victim embracing and possibly kissing another man after leaving the room she was in with Enochs
- The affidavit of probable cause failed to mention that the rape kit revealed DNA from two other men had been found on the woman
- The attorney representing the victim in the civil suit stated “My client had a boyfriend at the time and they failed to check to see whether it was his DNA, nor did they check to see if it was DNA from the bed where she was sexually assaulted.”
- Robert Miller stated “We never spoke to the victim.”
- Miller told HuffPost that their sex crimes deputy made multiple calls to the woman’s mother asking for the victim to call them back
LAWSUITS THAT FOLLOWED
- The woman in the 2015 case filed a federal lawsuit against the university and fraternity, claiming because a woman had reported having been raped by Enochs in 2013 and the school failed to intervene & take measures that could have prevented her own assault, they are at fault
- The woman in the 2013 allegation filed suit after learning about the 2015 allegation, according to court documents
- She alleged in September that Enochs had spiked her drink in 2013 prior to taking her to her room and having sex with her while she was unconscious
- Her suit accuses Enochs of rape, sexual battery and confinement, and the fraternity of negligence
- Enochs’ attorney believes that the alleged victim is trying to ‘extort’ money from Enochs
- Enochs’ attorney also claims that the lead investigator, IUPD Sgt. Rebecca Schmuhl, misrepresented the evidence available and misled prosecutors by omitting certain details from the affidavit. IUPD declined to comment