After Douglas County prosecutors entered into a diversion agreement with a 20-year-old former Kansas University student accused of raping a woman in his campus dorm room, Douglas County District Attorney Charles Branson said he stands by his office’s decision.

Douglas County District Attorney Charles Branson, pictured speaking during a 2014 press conference.

The man was originally arrested on suspicion of rape, but later charged with sexual battery, a misdemeanor that encompasses all sexually motivated “touching of a victim” who does not consent.

If the man meets all conditions of his diversion agreement, prosecutors will dismiss his charges. Branson said diversions are “not very often” used for sex crimes in Douglas County, but that it was appropriate in this case because the victim was supportive of it.

“After extensive consultation with the victim, it was her request that we proceed with a diversion,” Branson said in an email. “She felt that a diversion could address that underlying issues that brought forth the charges in this case.”

The victim and defendant had known each other since middle school and had dated for several years, Branson said. On the day in question, April 8, 2014, the victim went to the defendant’s dorm room to see how he was feeling after a sports injury.

In the affidavit for the man’s arrest, the victim claimed she was taking a nap with the man that afternoon in his room when the man “performed sexual intercourse upon her” as she “repeatedly told (him) to stop and tried to push him away with her hands.”

In a police interview, the man admitted to having “sexual intercourse” with the victim, and remembered her telling him to stop, “but he thought it was a ‘playful no,'” according to the affidavit.

“(The man) said he knew now that he had made a mistake and should not have done it,” a KU Public Safety Office detective wrote in the affidavit.

He was later expelled from KU for sexual misconduct, said KU spokeswoman Erinn Barcomb-Peterson.

On Sept. 3, the man stipulated to the allegations in a diversion agreement with prosecutors. Branson said that a diversion is “an opportunity to hold the defendant to a certain degree of accountability without the long-lasting consequences of a conviction.”

The man’s agreement states that the district attorney’s office will dismiss the charge against him if he meets the following conditions:

• Pay court-related costs totaling $2,181.

• Pay $725 in restitution.

• Abstain from alcohol and “recreational drugs.”

• Write the victim a letter of apology.

• Complete 50 hours of community service work.

• Meet with Jane McQueeny of KU’s Office of Institutional Opportunity and Access to “participate in discussions regarding appropriate sexual boundaries” and be referred to “appropriate learning tools.”

• Notify the court of any change of address.

Some of those conditions, like the mandatory “sexual boundaries” discussions, appear to be in line with what Branson said was the victim’s main desire.

“(The victim) was especially interested in making sure the defendant was educated about the appropriate boundaries regarding sexual contact with the opposite sex,” Branson said.

Branson said that it may be easier to get diversions over convictions in sexual assault cases.

“Most sexual assault charges carry significant prison terms which may make a diversion attractive to a defendant,” Branson said.

He said that a benefit of the diversion for victims is that the defendant is required to “stipulate to certain facts upon which the charge is based.”

“(Stipulating) requires the defendant to accept a degree of responsibility for the alleged conduct. Some defendants have a hard time doing that,” Branson said in an email. “However, accepting or admitting to their conduct sometimes goes a long ways toward restoring the victim.”

But while the case’s disposition may satisfy those directly involved, GaDuGi SafeCenter Inc. Executive Director Chrissy Heikkila said the outcome in this case has other implications.

“It’s twofold: on the one hand, it means we’re to a place in our society where we actually do get an outcome,” Heikkila said. “In the past, that still would have been a dream to have any of those conditions that came after this case.

“But on the other, (he) committed a crime against a person, and that outcome isn’t equal to the crime committed,” Heikkila said.

Branson said he was not concerned about the message that accepting a diversion agreement in a sex case might send to sexual assault victims because his office “maintain(s) a very open dialogue with the victim in the case.”

“We spend a lot of time talking about the options for resolution of the case, their feelings and desires for accountability and punishment,” Branson wrote in an email, “but also their desire to testify and subject themselves to the scrutiny of a jury trial.”

Heikkila also maintained that the district attorney’s office is committed to protecting the victims in sexual assault cases, allowing GaDuGi workers to be victim advocates.

“The district attorney’s office works really hard to make sure we are involved in the process,” Heikkila said. “They are supportive of having us in the role of a support system because they also know it’s hard to get an agreement that everyone can feel good about at the end.”

If the man fails to meet the conditions of his diversion agreement, prosecutors can prosecute the case with his stipulations to the crime. If convicted, the man would face up to one year in jail and a $2,500 fine.