UW-Madison Police Department arrested three UW-Madison male students Wednesday for an alleged second-degree sexual assault occurring in September. Two of the suspects were reportedly receiving full tuition from a prestigious university scholarship.
The UWPD arrested students Brian K. Allen, 18 of Menomonee Falls; Prentice A. Williams, 18 of Milwaukee; and Bruce H. Beckley, 18 of Milwaukee for alleged second-degree sexual assault for an incident in Witte Hall, 615 W. Johnson St., last September, according to Sgt. Aaron Chapin.
Wisconsin State law defines second degree sexual assault as sexual contact or intercourse with threat of force or without consent. Penalties for the crime include fines, prison time or both.
Allen, Williams and Beckley are UW-Madison freshmen living in Witte Hall, according to a friend of all three suspects.
Chapin said the suspects knew the female victim, who does not attend UW-Madison.
According to Chapin, the suspects are in Dane County Jail and follow-up continues in an open investigation.
Allen and Williams, as part of the Pre-College Enrichment Opportunity Program for Learning Excellence, were receiving a full-tuition scholarship.
PEOPLE is a pre-college program designed for students of color and low-income students who are typically the first in their family to attend college. Once admitted to UW-Madison, students receive a full academic scholarship as long as recipients maintain a 2.0 GPA and take at least 12.0 credit hours.
A UW-Madison Sellery Hall resident and PEOPLE program recipient who met Allen and William during the summer at a PEOPLE program said he was speechless at the news.
“Me and Prentice have been friends for a long time...he’s a good kid,” he said. “I honestly did not expect this, and I kind of have a hard time believing this.”
UW-Madison freshman and Witte resident Joe Illg said his dorm floor had a meeting around the time of the incident where his house fellow stressed taking safety precautions such as not letting people into Witte without an ID card and locking doors.
Promoting Awareness, Victim Empowerment media advocate and Daily Cardinal staff member Jacqueline O’Reilly expressed her condolences for the victim and said assault happens frequently on college campuses.
“It’s important to remember when something like this happens...that this isn’t a crime that happens every time you see a headline,” O’Reilly said. “It’s a crime that’s constantly happening, and it’s constantly happening to UW students.”
