By Joe Johnson
A Fulton County man was recently charged with allegedly sexually assaulting an 18-year-old University of Georgia student in a UGA dorm room five months ago, according to university police reports.
Aidan Moriarty Fitzpatrick, 20, of Alpharetta was arrested Jan. 25 on felony warrants charging him with rape and aggravated sexual batter, and three misdemeanor warrants for sexual battery, according to reports.
The warrants stemmed from an investigation that began Sept. 5, when a resident assistant at Church Hall dorms on South Lumpkin Street reported that the student told her she had been raped and sodomized by a male she knew in one of the dorm rooms there, police reports noted.
The student was transported to the hospital, where she underwent an exam by a Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner.
On Jan. 20, police presented evidence to Athens-Clarke County Magistrate Court Associate Judge Kelly Wegel, who signed the warrants for Fitzpatrick’s arrest, according to police reports.
An attorney for the suspected offender that same day was notified of the warrants, and Fitzpatrick was booked into the county jail five days later, according to the Athens-Clarke County Jail, where the suspect remained on Tuesday, after having been denied bond.
Anyone who has been sexually assaulted or knows someone who has can contact The Cottage Sexual Assault Center and Children's Advocacy Center. The agency provides a range of free services to child and adult victims of sexual and physical abuse, including medical care, legal advocacy, referrals, counseling and support groups. The Cottage also maintains a 24-hour crisis and information hotline at (877) 363-1912. For more information visit www.northgeorgiacottage.org.