Waco Trib By TOMMY WITHERSPOON 12/10/2018
A former Baylor University fraternity president accused of rape will serve no jail time after a Waco district judge Monday accepted a plea bargain that has ignited a public furor.
In a packed courtroom, 19th State District Judge Ralph Strother accepted a deal prosecutors offered to Jacob Walter Anderson in October, allowing him to plead no contest to the third-degree felony charge of unlawful restraint, and receive deferred probation. Under the deal, prosecutors agreed to dismiss four counts of sexual assault against Anderson, who is no longer a Baylor student, and he will not have to register as a sex offender. He also agreed to pay a $400 fine and get counseling.
In deferred probation cases, there is no final judgment of guilt if the defendant completes probation.
Before announcing his decision, Strother acknowledged the widespread interest the case has drawn, in the form of social media commentary, courthouse protests and a barrage of emails and phone calls he has received, and said “not much about this case has been normal.†He said in reaching his decision, he had the benefit of an extensive background report compiled by the probation department, as well as briefs filed by attorneys of the victim and the defendant.
Strother said most of the comments he has seen on social media and emails fall into three categories: “not fully informed, misinformed or totally uninformed.â€
Anderson, 23, a Garland resident and former president of Baylor’s Phi Delta Theta fraternity, was indicted on charges he sexually assaulted a sophomore at an off-campus fraternity party in February 2016, when she was 19. The charges against him came at a time when Baylor was roiled by a crisis over its handling of sexual assault complaints, a crisis that caused the shakeup of top university leadership.
After the allegations surfaced, Anderson was removed from the fraternity, kicked out of Baylor and the fraternity chapter was suspended.
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