Bond Set in Alleged Rape Case
November 19, 2009 • By The Breeze,
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Outpouring of Support Defends Suspect’s Character
HARRISONBURG, Va. — The 19-year-old man charged with several crimes in an alleged on-campus sexual assault was released from jail Tuesday morning on a $75,000 bond.
Travis James Mick, of Yorktown, was granted the bond Monday in Rockingham County Circuit Court. He was previously denied bond twice. He had been held in jail since his arrest in the early morning of Oct. 31 on charges of object sexual penetration, trespassing and resisting arrest. Charges of rape and sodomy were filed Nov. 9.
Friends and family testified Monday afternoon that Mick would not have committed such crimes, according to a Tuesday article in the Daily News-Record.
A Yorktown neighbor, Allison Jordan, said she’s known Mick for about five years and he took her son under his wing.
“He’s been a mentor for my child,” she told Judge T.J. Wilson, according to the DN-R. “He’s really protected him.”
The alleged victim had been walking down South Main Street on Oct. 30, according to prosecutors, when Mick approached her. Prosecutors said the two went to her dorm, Wampler Hall, because the victim wanted to be in a familiar place. There, Mick allegedly sexually assaulted her.
After he passed out or fell asleep, she notified friends and RAs, who could not remove him from the room. Police were called and Mick resisted arrest, according to prosecutors.
Assistant Commonwealth’s Attorney Cristabel Opp said Mick’s friends might not know everything about him.
“It’s a side these witnesses are not familiar with,” Opp told the court.
Mick’s attorney, Jonathan Shapiro, of Fairfax, tried to poke holes in the prosecution’s case, the DN-R reported. He said the woman did not immediately report the rape, did not undergo a rape examination and took Mick to her room instead of directly to the staffed resident adviser office.
Shapiro said a witness told police that the suspect and woman were seen walking together and it appeared “she was hanging all over him,” the DN-R reported.
Shapiro said bond was appropriate.
“He is tied to his community as anyone possibly could be,” Shapiro told the judge, adding that his family and friends will make sure he follows the court’s instructions, according to the DN-R.
“They’re going to be watching him like a hawk.”
Mick is scheduled to appear in Rockingham County General District Court at 2 p.m. Dec. 3.
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5 Responses to “Bond Set in Alleged Rape Case”
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can i say what everyone’s thinking?
poor guy. we feel for you. keep your head up.
This is retarded. Travis should not be going through this. If he gets convicted I’m gonna lose it.
From the picture of Travis on the page, I clearly see a hicky on his neck. This may be from another night, but it also may be from the aledged “victim”. If the mark on his neck was from her it is hard to believe that whatever happened was not consensual. I wasn’t there and don’t know what really happened, but I do know that no one in their right mind would invite someone back to their room if they were in fear of being assaulted in any kind of way. I personally know Travis and feel bad that he has to go through such a troubled time. I do not believe what he is being accused of dealing with the sexual assualt.
You really want to know why a girl would bring a guy back to her place Lance? If a guy approached me who is obviously stronger than me and acting through drunken aggression, I would rather not make a scene and have him hurt me. If I had no choice but to go with him, I would rather bring him back to my place where people would KNOW where I am rather than his place where no one can find me. The woman was smart.
If he approaches a girl he doesn’t know and forces her to do things, than you’re right. The hickey could be from anyone. I’m sure this wasn’t his first time acting this way.
Okay Diane…So she walks him back to her dorm, you’re right, smart on her part. It was not, however, smart to take him back to her room. That doesn’t make any sense. She went to her room, and then got her RA’s after he allegedly assaulted her. Why wouldn’t she go get someone to help her before he assaulted her. How did she know he wouldn’t have killed her once he got to her room. When you’re in a situation like this, you don’t take any chances. You walk by anyone that can help you, and you let them know you’re in trouble. A simple scream in a dorm is going to get other peoples attention. “Okay, this guy passed out on my bed, he just “raped me”, I’m going to go get some friends to get him out of my bed, I’m not going to call the police or go to the hospital to check for std’s”…uhh no. This case has absolutely NO facts to support what she says. It’s a joke, and it shows the character of some of the JMU students to say that someone RUIN someones life so they would feel less like a —-.