Osai Egharevba ’21 pled not guilty to charges of third degree sex abuse, unlawful imprisonment and two counts of harassment during an arraignment hearing on Wednesday.
Egharevba’s lawyer, Patrick Cummings, asked for the court hearing to be adjourned so that he could review the evidence and speak with Tompkins County assistant district attorney Heidi Paulino, who is prosecuting the case. Cummings was assigned to the case two days prior, on Dec. 7. Ithaca City Court Judge Seth Peacock agreed to the request to adjourn.
Egharevba, Cummings and the Title IX office did not respond to a request for comment by the time of publication.
“The Cornell University Police continue the investigation into these crimes. In addition to criminal arrests, we work closely with victims to ensure they are connected with the Office of Institutional Equity and Title IX and other University resources,” wrote Cornell Police Chief David Honan in a Dec. 9 email. “We are unable to comment further while these cases remain under investigation and there are pending criminal charges.”
In the previous arraignment hearing, on Nov. 20, Peacock explained the charges’ context, citing multiple incidents of alleged verbal and physical harassment from January to November. Egharevba was arrested on Nov. 17 and released from custody with the promise to later appear in court.
The next hearing will be on Jan. 13 at 9 a.m.