Update (12/1/18 at 4:20 p.m.): All charges against have been dismissed. Read about it here.
Update (11/28/18 at 11:35 p.m.): Juan Pablo Alforja Castiella is no longer enrolled at Emory University, according to an email to the Wheel from Associate Vice President of University Communications Nancy Seideman.
An Emory Law student has been charged with rape, aggravated sodomy and sexual battery, according to court documents.
Juan Pablo Alforja Castiella (19L), 36, was arrested on Nov. 15 by Emory Police Department (EPD) after an investigation that lasted more than two months. The investigation was prompted by a report of rape on Sept. 16 at 3:43 a.m., according to an initial police incident report. The Wheel first reported on the incident in the Sept. 26 crime report.
Juan Pablo Alforja Castiella
An arrest warrant said Alforja Castiella engaged in “sexual contact and activity … with force and against the will” of a female whose name was redacted in accordance with Georgia law.
Rape and aggravated sodomy are felonies in Georgia. The maximum sentence for rape and aggravated sodomy in Georgia is life in prison.
EPD Records Manager Ed Shoemaker declined to provide the arrest report to the Wheel, citing an “ongoing investigation.”
Alforja Castiella remains in DeKalb County Jail pending a probable cause hearing scheduled for Wednesday at 1 p.m. at the Magistrate Court of DeKalb County.
Emory School of Law Director of Communications A. Kenyatta Greer directed the Wheel’s request for comment to Associate Vice President of University Communications Nancy Seideman, who declined to comment.
The Emory Law Student Handbook says that a student who is convicted for breach of law could face sanctions including suspension, expulsion or a written reprimand in the student’s permanent file that would be reported to any bar association in which the student seeks admission.
Alforja Castiella does not have an attorney on file as of Tuesday morning, according to a Magistrate Court employee. The Wheel was unable to reach Alforja Castiella for comment by press time.
Richard Chess contributed reporting.
Correction (11/30/18 at 11:43 a.m.): A previous version of this article stated that the maximum sentence for rape in Georgia is the death penalty. In fact, the maximum sentence is life in prison.
Tanika Deuskar (22C) is from Bangalore, India. She intends to double major in Biology and Creative Writing. She loves jogging, listening to podcasts, and eating spicy food.
