Boston Area Student Indicted in October Rape of BU Student

BU police spent more than six months investigating an alleged rape at the StuViII dorm before charging a Boston area student. Photo by Kalman Zabarsky

Updated May 11, 11 a.m.: Donick pleaded not guilty at his arraignment and was taken into custody on a $10,000 cash bail. He was ordered to surrender his passport, avoid contact with the victim and witnesses, stay away from the BU campus, and remain outside Massachusetts if he posts bail. His trial was set for next February.

A 20-year-old student from another Boston area university has been indicted for allegedly raping a female BU student as she slept at the StuViII dormitory last October.

Samson Donick of Tiburon, Calif., is to be arraigned Wednesday in Suffolk County District Court. He also faces charges of breaking and entering with the intent to commit a felony, indecent assault and battery, and burglary. The Boston Globe reports that Donick attended MIT, but does no longer.

BU Police Detective Lieutenant Peter DiDomenica says the six-month-plus investigation by the BUPD that culminated in the arraignment was more difficult than many other sexual assault cases because the victim did not know the suspect. “In most of the ones we deal with, the parties are known to each other,” says DiDomenica, “so the identification is not an issue.”

BUPD Chief Thomas Robbins says that “the assets of the entire detective division here” were put into the investigation. The time his detectives spent to identify and charge the suspect, he says, reflects “how thorough they were and how intense this investigation was.”

Police say the alleged assault happened about 2:30 a.m. on October 18, 2015. About half an hour earlier, Donick and three other males, none of them BU students, had been signed into StuViII by two female residents who knew them, Suffolk County District Attorney Daniel Conley says. Donick and one of the male visitors entered about 10 rooms before Donick allegedly attacked the student, according to Conley. Donick’s companion was not involved in that incident and has not been charged in the case, Robbins says.

The victim reported the incident to the BUPD, and the University issued a public safety alert. That prompted many students to report that two males had entered their rooms. The BUPD recovered surveillance video footage of the two in a StuViII stairwell, obtaining their identifications at the front desk where they had been signed in, Conley says. Police questioned the second male, who told them he and Donick had entered several rooms. The victim’s description of her attacker matched Donick and the clothing he was wearing in the video footage, Conley says.

Student victims of any crime, including sexual assault or domestic violence, are urged to seek help from any of the many crisis intervention, counseling, and student services available to them, both on campus and in the community. Crisis intervention counselors are available through the Sexual Assault Response & Prevention Center 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, at 617-353-7277. Students may also call the BU Police Department at 617-353-2121 or the Dean of Students office at 617-353-4126 for assistance. Employees needing help may contact the Faculty & Staff Assistance Office at 617-353-5381 or by email at fsao@bu.edu.