[B]URLINGTON — A University of Vermont student pleaded not guilty Tuesday to charges stemming from allegations that he sexually assaulted two female students while they slept.
Nikolia Kalininskii, 19, an international student from Russia, is charged with lewd and lascivious conduct and burglary — both felonies — in connection with two incidents over the weekend.
Kalininskii was arrested Monday and held at the Chittenden County Regional Correctional Facility until his arraignment Tuesday. After pleading not guilty, he was released on conditions.
The judge ordered Kalininskii to surrender his passport, placed him under curfew, and issued a secured bond of $2,500, meaning he will be forced to pay that amount if he doesn’t show up in court. Kalininskii has also been ordered not to have contact with the alleged victims.
Kalininskii was also issued a no trespass order for the entire UVM campus by university police, which means he can’t attend classes or stay in a residence hall.
His public defender, Sandra Lee, said during the arraignment that Kalininskii has resources to make other arrangements for a place to stay.
Judge Dennis Pearson did not find probable cause for the sexual assault charge initially filed against Kalininskii, but Assistant State’s Attorney Ryan Richards said his office may refile a sexual assault charge with further information.
“Sexual assault has no place in our community. We take this very seriously and consistently hold people accountable,” said Enrique Corredera, executive director of university communications, “UVM is committed to providing education, intervention, prevention initiatives, as well as providing quality support resources.”
All first-year students are required to participate in a mandatory sexual assault course and the school offers a bystander intervention course as well, among other measures to prevent campus sexual assault, Corredera said.
Corredera said Kallininskii could face additional university sanctions and his case will go through an established disciplinary process with the Office of Affirmative Action and Equal Opportunity, which will conduct its own investigation.
On Saturday, a group of students were drinking alcohol in a residence at the Living and Learning Center, a dormitory on Main Street, according to a police affidavit. The Living and Learning Center is home to roughly 550 UVM students and offers a diverse array of student and faculty led programs, Corredera said.
Among the students drinking in a shared suite were Kalininskii and a 20-year-old female student who said that, in the early morning hours on Sunday, while she was asleep on a beanbag chair in the common area of a suite, she awoke to someone touching her vagina, the affidavit says.
In the early morning hours Monday, a female student in a suite on the same floor reported waking up to someone touching her vagina through the sweatpants she was wearing in bed, according to the affidavit.
Neither woman was able to identify their assailant at the time they were being touched, because in both cases the person quickly fled when they awoke. The woman assaulted on Saturday was later told by another student that they saw Kalininskii standing near her while she slept on the beanbag, according to the affidavit.
After both women filed reports with campus police, the case was referred to the Chittenden Unit For Special Investigations (CUSI), which investigates sex crimes.
In the presence of two CUSI detectives, the woman assaulted on Saturday confronted Kalininskii via text message, asking if he touched her vagina while she slept. A transcript of the messages are included in the affidavit.
At one point the woman writes, “Being drunk is no excuse for you to touch my vagina while I’m sleeping.”
Kalininskii responds, “I know, Sunday you were upset, sorry that I did that with you. Every action leads to consequences. What can I do to make you forgive me?”
Based on the text massages, two CUSI detectives interviewed Kalininskii at the Living and Learning Center. He admitted to touching both women, and said he was having “bad thoughts” while intoxicated and was motivated by “animal instinct,” according to the affidavit.
A status conference in Kalininskii’s case is set for May 5.