BREAKING: Patrick Durocher found guilty in rape case

The verdict for Patrick Durocher has just been made in Hampshire Superior Court – Patrick Durocher is found guilty of rape and assault and battery. He is found not guilty for kidnapping.

Judge Mary-Lou Rup is allowing Durocher to stay out on a $10,000 bail until sentencing, which will occur on February 19, 2pm at the Hampshire Superior Courthouse.

Durocher was accused of strangling and raping a fellow UMass student days after the start of his freshman year.

Rebecca Everett, a MassLive reporter, spoke to us about the verdict: “When verdicts are read in court its scary and climactic, but really quick and intense and that’s exactly how it was in this case.

“I think it’s interesting that they found him guilty on the third count of assault and battery but not the second count of kidnapping – it was made clear that rape wasn’t found aggravated by injury. The jury didn’t find him guilty of aggravated rape, they found him guilty of the lesser charge of rape.”

On September 2, 2013, Longmeadow native Durocher was seen having sex on the Campus Center lawn with a recumbent woman. He pleaded not guilty to one count each of aggravated rape, kidnapping, assault and battery with bail. Durocher is no longer a student at UMass.

After six days of trial, the jury heard several testimonies – some from friends of the survivor, others bystanders, UMass officials, medical examiners, the survivor and Durocher to further examine the case.

Friends of the survivor claimed that they and the woman were drinking in another student’s dorm before the incident occurred. They all went out to a frat party and one friend, Laura Sheehan, texted the survivor with plans to leave. The survivor replied saying that she would stay at the party. . . Sheehan got a text the next morning that the survivor was in the hospital.

Other testimonies were from witnesses who posted pictures of the incident between 1am into the early morning on Twitter. These images were later added on Barstool Sports, a satirical sports and men’s lifestyle blog.

The survivor didn’t know until days later that pictures were posted online of the account.

It wasn’t until someone replied to Jacqueline Jacobs’ Twitter account, saying the photos depicted a rape, that anything was done about it.

“We were drunk…we thought it was funny,” Jacobs claimed.

She and Alexis Smither were in court as jurors saw a total of 17 images that were taken by them and another student. They realized that something wasn’t right, helped the survivor up from the ground and called 911.

Doucher’s attorney, Vincent Bongiorni claimed that this is a classic he-said-she-said and that she is falsely accusing rape after realizing the encounter developed on social media.

Baystate sexual assault nurse examiner Marie Boutin was unable to collect a rape kit that night because the survivor was unable to give consent due to lethargy and non-verbalness. The examination was done the next morning.

UMass police officer Christopher Stechmann testified that he arrived at the scene and spoke with Resident Assistant David Ke about the incident.

UMass Detective Derek Napoli was at the trial and explained how he and his team collected evidence, how the investigation was unfolding, etc. Napoli also testified in March for the 2012 gang-rape case.

A forensic scientist, Samantha Fisk, claimed that the survivor’s blood alcohol content was .22 – the average rate of the body eliminating alcohol consumed per hour is only .02.

The survivor eventually was asked to testify – Durocher’s attorney questioned how much she drank that night, her memory of the evening and her account of the assault. The survivor was on on the stand for over two hours.

Durocher testified on the last day of trial. He claimed that he met the survivor at a party and they left together ‘hand-in-hand’. According to Durocher, the woman initiated sexual activity on a different area of the Campus Center lawn but they decided to move 60 feet away so fewer people could see them:

“At UMass it seemed like a thing that could happen there,” he said of the outdoor sex. “I heard it was a party school.”

Durocher received a letter from UMass a few days afterwards that he was no longer enrolled at the university. He claimed that he sent Facebook messages to people he remembered being at the Campus Center that night to clear up what happened.

Assistant Northwestern District Attorney Jennifer Suhl cross-examined him, at one point bringing up an email that he, his mother and lawyer drafted and sent to his dean about 20 days after the assault. Apparently, the email was supposed to explain his point of view on how the night unfolded. However, Durocher’s most recent account of that night does not correspond with the email.

 

Closing arguments were given on Thursday morning, with live coverage thanks to MassLive reporter Rebecca Everett.

Check back for updates and comments by Everett.