Within 50 hours, three rapes were reported either near or on Georgia college campuses involving students, with all three leading to criminal charges.
The first took place Saturday morning at an apartment complex off Georgia Southern University’s campus. The second was Sunday morning in downtown Athens near the University of Georgia’s campus. And the most recent happened on Savannah State University’s campus Monday morning.
The Savannah State incident led to the arrest of 20-year-old Derek Chieme Igwe, who is charged with raping a fellow student at the SSU Freshman Living Learning Center, according to local media reports. The victim reported that the incident happened between 3:30 and 4 a.m., news station WTGS-TV reported.
Igwe was arrested by university police Tuesday and booked into the Chatham County Detention Center, the news station reported.
“We are aware an SSU student has been arrested for sexual misconduct against an acquaintance,” the university said in a statement. “There is no ongoing threat to the campus. All questions should be directed to the Chatham County District Attorney’s Office.”
This comes after the Saturday arrest of Paul Curtis Costley, 20, of Statesboro, who is accused of raping a woman at an apartment complex across the street from Georgia Southern’s campus, AJC.com previously reported.
MORE: Georgia Southern student accused of raping woman at apartment near campus
That incident took place about 3 a.m. at the Cambridge at Southern: The Pines complex, which advertises itself as a place "designed for students at Georgia Southern University," according to its website.
The university confirmed that Costley, who faces rape and aggravated assault charges, is a student, but it was not able to confirm whether the alleged victim attends the school.
About 3 a.m. Sunday, a 20-year-old UGA student reported that she was sexually assaulted near campus, which led to police obtaining rape and sexual battery warrants against 19-year-old Dionicio Guadarrama. The man, who is not a UGA student, was still on the loose Thursday night.
MORE: 19-year-old wanted on rape charge, accused of sexually assaulting UGA student
A second person’s name has not been released by authorities, but Athens police previously said they identified both suspects. It’s unclear whether warrants are pending against the unnamed suspect.
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