Victim Takes Stand at Start of Angelo State Dorm Rape Trial

SAN ANGELO, TX — The jury in the trial of a former Angelo State University student involving an alleged rape, or sexual assault, in a dorm room on campus was seated Friday and testimony began Monday.  

Twenty-year-old Alex Jonathon Cabello is charged with two counts of sexual assault in connection with the Sept. 13, 2016 incident in Robert Massie Hall at ASU.  In her opening statement, Assistant District Attorney Dana Nolen told jurors they would prove that Cabello ‘raped’ the 18-year-old victim in his dorm room.

The female victim took the stand Monday testifying for the prosecution.  She told jurors she and Cabello met at a weekend orientation event at ASU two weeks before the 2016 fall semester began.  She said they communicated through Snapchat, a phone app that features disappearing messages.The victim said she and Cabello had a freshman English class together and he asked her to help him with his homework.  She testified that he also asked if they could have sex. She replied on Snapchat that they could not have sex because she had a boyfriend. 

The victim testified that she went to Cabello’s dorm room anyway and they worked on homework together.  She said she typed his essay for him. When she finished the homework, he assaulted her. The victim cried on the stand describing the sexual assault.   

Once the victim left his dorm room and went back to her dorm room, she texted her boyfriend, then a relative of his called ASU Police.  

ASU Police Sgt. Detective Orlando Villarreal testified that he briefly interviewed the victim and then escorted her to Shannon Medical Center where a Sexual Assault Nurse Examination (SANE) examination was performed.  The SANE kit included a physical examination and collection of DNA evidence that was sent to the Department of Public Safety Crime Lab in Lubbock for testing.

Villarreal testified that he got a warrant from a justice of the peace to search Cabello’s room.  Villarreal said he collected a beige towel, bedding and a pair of underwear. The ASU detective also testified that he attempted to send the towel, bedding and underwear to the crime lab for testing, but the lab wouldn’t take the new evidence until it was finished testing the SANE kit first.  He said ASU police received the SANE kit back from the lab in May of 2018 but never sent the towel, bedding and underwear for testing. Under cross-examination, Villarreal was asked why they never sent the additional evidence for testing. He testified that he didn’t know why it was not sent.

Prosecutors also presented Cabello’s interview with ASU police the day after the incident.  Cabello admitted that the victim was in his dorm room helping him with his homework, but he told investigators they did not have sex.  

Testimony in the trial continues Tuesday morning.