Indiana University rape case: Prosecutor drops charges as student is given one year probation

He pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor battery charge

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A former Indiana University student served only one day in jail after he was charged in two rape cases, and walked away with a one year probation sentence.

John Enochs pleaded guilty to battery with moderate bodily injury in a deal with prosecutors, who dismissed the two initial rape charges stemming from alleged attacks in 2013 and 2015. The court downgraded the battery charge from a felony to a Class A misdemeanor.

Prosecutors said that Enochs will serve one year in jail if he violates his probation, CNN reports.

Enochs reportedly only spent one day in jail before he post bail in September 2015.

“As the Monroe County prosecutors' office has acknowledged through their voluntary dismissal of the rape charges, John Enochs did not rape anyone and he should never have been charged with these offences,” said Enoch’s attorney, Katherine Liell. “John Enochs did admit to conduct in one instance that the Court found to be a misdemeanor.

“He is profoundly sorry for his lack of judgment and has apologised for his conduct.”

Enochs was charged with an April 2015 after the victim told police she was raped at the IU Delta Tau Delta fraternity house. She said she did not know her attacker, and repeatedly told Enochs to stop while he held her down.

Police identified Enochs entering the room with his victim in security footage. After 24 minutes, the victim was shown to leave the room. She reportedly suffered lacerations to her genitals during the rape.

During the investigation of the most recent case, police determined that Enochs was involved in a similar case in 2013. Using DNA evidence and witness accounts, they linked Enochs to the rape prior to his arrest.

“After hearing about a second assault, [the victim] decided she needed to have closure, so she agreed to proceed into a criminal investigation,” a court affidavit said.

Mugshot of Brock Turner (AP)

Enochs’ sentence comes after a judge sentenced Brock Turner to six months in a county jail and probation for sexually assaulting a woman behind a garbage dumpster on the Stanford University campus. Santa Clara judge Aaron Persky said a more significant prison sentence would have a “severe impact” on Turner, a school athlete.

In a similar case involving a 32-year-old immigrant from El Salvador, the Guardian reports, Persky sentenced the defendant to three years in state prison as part of a plea deal.

According to People magazine, the woman who accused Enochs of rape is suing Indiana University and the Delta Tau Delta fraternity in a civil suit.

“There were many red flags that both the school and the fraternal organization ignored which ultimately led to my client being sexually assaulted,” a press release about the lawsuit read.