A Cornell student accused of raping another student pled not guilty of the charge in Ithaca City Court Friday.
Peter Mesko ’13 was arrested and charged with first-degree rape on Tuesday. He was released on $5,000 bail.
Mesko has been suspended from the University pending the results of the criminal investigation, according to The Ithaca Journal.
Mesko is accused of raping a female student in her girlfriend’s bedroom early in the morning of March 30. Her girlfriend, who was in the room with her, helped her fend off the attack before the two fled to an upstairs bedroom, according to court documents obtained by The Journal.
Several minutes later, the victim’s girlfriend returned downstairs to take pictures of the assailant, who was lying on her bed with his jeans “slightly pulled down,” according to court documents. After the victim and the partner left the house, they later identified him on the website of Cornell’s athletics department.
On Friday, Judge Judith Rossiter J.D. ’86 said she would not issue an order requiring Mesko stay inTompkins County, allowing Mesko to return to his family home in Honesdale, Pa., until his trial.
Original Author: Kerry Close