SAN JOSE, Calif._An international San Jose State water polo player temporarily banned from campus amid accusations that he sexually assaulted two women appears to have left the country, according to campus officials.
Just months after a sexual assault case involving former Stanford swimmer Brock Turner triggered an avalanche of outrage, two San Jose State students came forward in September to report a freshman water polo player had raped them at an off-campus party over Labor Day weekend, authorities say.
The first allegation against the international student-athlete came to light on Sept. 4, prompting investigations by the San Jose Police Department and the campus's anti-discrimination, or Title IX, office. The second woman came forward about two weeks later, and on Sept. 22, San Jose State issued an interim suspension that prevented the student-athlete from entering campus property or participating in any campus-related events, including team practices, said campus spokeswoman Pat Lopes Harris.
He has not been arrested in connection with the allegations or charged with any crime; the Santa Clara County District Attorney's Office is reviewing the case.
Campus officials have not named the student nor his country of origin. The student did not immediately respond to requests for comment. This news organization is not naming him because he has not been publicly identified or formally accused of a crime.
"He maintained from the beginning that he was innocent," said Natalie Brouwer Potts, the campus's new Title IX officer.
Although he appears to have left the country, Lopes Harris said, the student is still enrolled in school and on the water polo team's eligibility roster.
"Regardless of where he is, the investigation goes forward because the university is committed to ensuring that anyone who violates Title IX, the sexual assault policy, is held accountable," Brouwer Potts said.
If the campus investigation validates the allegations against the freshman, who played on a partial scholarship, he will be subject to sanctions from the school that could be as serious as expulsion.
Campus police did not issue any crime alerts in connection with the sexual assault reports. San Jose State University police Chief Peter Decena said his department determined the student _ who had been interviewed by campus officials and city police _ did not pose a danger to campus.
"He was under a lot of scrutiny at the time," he said.
San Jose State officials say they responded swiftly and appropriately to the complaints and that they acted to protect the women who came forward, issuing the water polo player no-contact and no-retaliation orders immediately after receiving the first report and removing him from campus after the second.
Brouwer Potts said the campus's chief diversity officer, Kathleen Wong(Lau), met with the men's water polo team on Monday about "how the university is committed to preventing sexual assaults."
