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Additional charges also were brought against the primary defendants.
Justin Somers and Christopher Rainone, both of Staten Island, and Jordan Massood of Wayne, all 18, are each charged with endangering an injured victim because they “aided or encouraged” the assault by Christian A. Lopez, 24, of Secaucus, and 18-year-old Nakeem D. Gardner of Paterson, Molinelli said.
Christian A. Lopez, Nakeem D. Gardner (MUGSHOTS: Courtesy BERGEN COUNTY PROSECUTOR)
Somers and Rainone are charged with invasion of privacy because they “took pictures of the victim without her consent,” the prosecutor said.
All three were arrested without incident on the Ramapo College campus earlier today, Molinelli said. They were charged on complaint summonses and released pending Municipal Court appearances.
Molinelli’s detectives also charged Lopez, who remains held on $300,000 bail in the Bergen County Jail, with inappropriately touching another female student.
They also added charges charges of criminal restraint, endangering an injured victim and invasion of privacy in connection with the original incident.
Gardner, who also remains held on $300,000 bail, received an additional charge of endangering an injured victim, the prosecutor said.
Additional bail hadn’t yet been set on the new charges for either man, he said.
Authorities arrested Lopez and Gardner last Monday and charged them with aggravated sexual assault in connection with the rape of a female student — part of which Molinelli said was recorded — during the early morning hours that previous Saturday.
The woman told investigators she’d attended an overnight fraternity party, went to lie down after not feeling well and woke up the next day partially clothed in an on-campus dormitory room, sources with direct knowledge of the investigation told CLIFFVIEW PILOT.
She then went to Hackensack University Medical Center, whose personnel notified authorities, Molinelli said last week.
Investigators from the prosecutor’s office and Mahwah police interviewed the girl, as well as several students, before bringing both men in for questioning, he said.
“A review of video surveillance on campus as well as interviews of numerous students resulted in detectives identifying two suspects and confirming that the victim was highly intoxicated and unable to consent to sexual activity,” the prosecutor said.
Detectives arrested Gonzalez on campus and Lopez at his home.
Ramapo President Peter P. Mercer addressed the situation last week on the college’s Facebook page: “The safety and well-being of our students remains our paramount concern. Therefore, while we believe our sexual assault prevention programming and procedures are strong, the shocking nature of these allegations compels us to re-examine them.”
Mercer pledged to seek an expert’s assessement “to ensure Ramapo College is at the forefront of sexual assault prevention and alcohol awareness education.”
MUGSHOTS: Courtesy BERGEN COUNTY PROSECUTOR
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