Accused Of Rape, Northwestern Student To Return To New Jersey

SKOKIE, IL — A Cook County judge gave permission for a suspended Northwestern University undergraduate accused of raping a fellow freshman last month to leave the state and live with his parents in New Jersey. At a hearing Wednesday in Skokie, a Northwestern law professor who had been acting as the man’s defense attorney stepped down as his lawyer, calling it a "conflict of interest" for him to continue to represent a student charged with the sexual assault of another student.

Scott D. Thomas, 20, of the 1000 block of Overleigh Road in Bernardsville, New Jersey, was arrested March 19 in connection with an incident reported to police shortly after 2 a.m. on March 16 at the Jacobs Center, 2001 Sheridan Road, according to university police and prosecutors. He was charged with one count of criminal sexual assault and has been banned from Northwestern's campus or any contact with potential witnesses at the university.

Prosecutors said students leaving the library witnessed Thomas having sex with the "limp, lifeless" body of a highly inebriated woman who was unable to stand on her own. The witnesses reported hearing her pleading with Thomas to stop. One of the students leaving the library also shouted at Thomas to "stop," at which point he pulled up his pants, zipped his fly and tucked in his shirt, according to prosecutors.

The witnesses flagged down a university police officer, and the woman, who was unable to provide any personal information at the time, was taken to hospital with cuts and bruises, prosecutors said. She later told investigators she did not remember the assault but remembered meeting Thomas at a soccer party. She did not know him well, according to prosecutors.

Prosecutors said video surveillance shows the woman falling over multiple times as Thomas sexually assaulted her against a glass door. Earlier, the video showed the 18-year-old woman, who told authorities she had been drinking, physically removing Thomas' hand from her crotch multiple times before the assault, according to prosecutors. At his second court appearance, Thomas’ defense attorneys filed a subpoena for copies of video evidence gathered by investigators with Northwestern’s private police force, the lead agency in the case.

At his initial court hearing, Cook County Circuit Judge Anjana Hansen rejected the initial request from Thomas' defense attorney, Jeff Urdangen, a clinical professor of law at Northwestern's law school, to allow the suspended student to move in with his parents in New Jersey. Urdangen described the accusations as an "unfortunate" instance of "drunken sex" that would be "sorted out" as the case progressed.

Following the March 20 bond hearing, Thomas’ parents immediately provided the $5,000 cash portion of his bond. He was released with GPS monitoring among his bail conditions, according to court and sheriff's office records.

On Wednesday, a different judge, Circuit Judge Paul Pavlus, was presiding, as Urdangen filed a written motion arguing Thomas should be allowed to leave the state with the promise to return for court hearings. According to the Northwestern law professor, Thomas had been "suspended based on these allegations" and thus "did not have a place to live in this area" due to being banned from the Northwestern campus, where he used to live.

Assistant State's Attorney Pamela Stratigakis argued that the intent of the monitoring was not just to keep Thomas away from campus, but to prevent him from contacting witnesses or potential witnesses in the case.

"These are extremely serious felony charges [Thomas] faces," Stratigakis said. She asked the judge, should he choose to allow Thomas to move back in with his parents, to at least require GPS tracking of Thomas while he is in Illinois for court appearances.

But Pavlus sided with the defense's requests on both counts. He expressed confidence in Thomas' parents, who last month were able to provide their son's bail prior to him having to be booked at Cook County Jail and were again in attendance at Thomas' second hearing. Allowing Thomas to return to the East Coast to live with them would keep him farther away from people involved in the case, Pavlus reasoned.

The judge declared continued GPS monitoring would be unnecessary, instead giving Thomas a stern warning against returning to Northwestern or trying to contact anyone connected with the university, regardless of the method. Pavlus said if Thomas violated any of the terms of his bail or failed to show up to court he would ensure that he was held at Cook County Jail until the conclusion of the case.

"Sometimes justice in Cook County takes a long time," Pavlus said. "And I have the ability to make it go even slower." He notified Thomas that his trial and sentencing could be held in his absence should he fail to return from New Jersey.

Earlier: Northwestern Freshman Raped By Student On Campus: Prosecutors

Thomas, wearing a beige sweater, khakis and brown leather boat shoes, towered over the diminutive Urdangen by more than a foot as he solemnly told the judge he understood.

After the hearing, Urdangen, a clinical professor of law at Northwestern University, declined to comment when asked about his acknowledgment of a conflict of interest in the case. According to the website of the Center for Criminal Defense at the Blumn Legal Clinic, where he is the director, Urdangen's "pro bono work on behalf of numerous notable and unjustly accused defendants has been a recognized contribution to the Chicago area legal community."

The defense attorney has not responded to written questions regarding whether Thomas was among those he has represented in such a pro bono capacity, when and why he considered the case to constitute a conflict of interest or whether he has represented other Northwestern students in past criminal proceedings.

Attorney Shelby Prusak took over as Thomas' lawyer following the hearing. She said his family was thankful to the judge for allowing her client to return to New Jersey and hoped for the full truth of the incident to eventually emerge.

Thomas currently faces a single charge of criminal sexual assault of a person unable to give consent. Prosecutors are expected to return a direct indictment on April 10, at which point Thomas will have an opportunity to enter a plea.

Update: Ex-Northwestern Student Arraigned On 64 Counts Of Sexual Assault