Judge sentences former UMass student to prison for rape

Case hinged on legal concept of consent
Day after conviction, judge hands down state prison sentence

 

NORTHAMPTON –   A Hampshire Superior Court judge today sentenced a former University of Massachusetts student to 3 to 5 years in state prison following his conviction Monday on a single count of rape committed in December of 2017 in a dormitory room.

Hampshire Superior Court Judge Richard Carey handed down the sentence after hearing differing recommendations from prosecuting and defense attorneys as well as statements from the victim and the defendant, Ryder Chilcoff, from Villa Park, California. Chilcoff was a 21-year-old UMass student when the rape occurred four years ago.

Northwestern Assistant District Attorney and Chief of the Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault Unit Sandra Staub asked Carey to sentence Chilcoff to 5 to 7 years in state prison, noting that the sentence is aligned with sentencing guidelines for rape convictions. ADA Staub argued that such a sentence would serve as a deterrent, provide offender accountability and signal to victims that rape cases are taken seriously. She noted that a rape has an impact on every area of a victim’s life.

“And it’s not a short impact, it’s a devastatingly long impact,” Staub said in explaining why the Commonwealth believes sticking with the sentencing guidelines was appropriate. “This is  not a victimless crime. She will have to deal with its effect for the rest of her life….Just as his life was before him on Dec. 9, 2017, her life was before her at that same moment.”

The victim also addressed the judge,  saying the crime changed her forever and caused great trauma, but that she hoped the sentence would help her move forward. “I’m the voice of so many survivors who have been silenced,” she said.

Los Angeles Defense Attorney Alan Jackson asked for a term of probation coupled with conditions that he suggested would “save a young man’s future” while simultaneously serving as a deterrent and holding his client accountable for his actions.

The six-day trial was prosecuted by Northwestern Deputy District Attorney Jennifer Suhl and ADA Staub in a case that centered on the legal concept of incapacity to consent to sexual intercourse. The victim had been out with friends on the night of Dec. 8, consuming so much alcohol that when she returned to her high-rise dormitory in the early hours of Dec. 9, she mistakenly entered a room that was one floor directly above her room. She fell asleep in Chilcoff’s bed thinking it was her own, where the rape occurred.

Witnesses in the trial testified that the victim was obviously so intoxicated that she was confused about where she was and where she lived. Ryder’s roommate and a third man in the room when the victim entered it warned Ryder that she was too intoxicated to be aware of what was happening.

During trial Jackson claimed that what took place was consensual sex and maintained that being intoxicated to the point of blackout does not mean an individual can’t consent to sex.

Though the sentence was less than the recommendation made by the DA’s office, Deputy DA Suhl said “we are satisfied that the court saw this as a serious case,” and provided an example to victims that “accountability can occur.”

In addition to serving a prison sentence, Chilcoff will have to register as a sex offender.