Expelled Northwestern Student Charged With Raping Woman At Party

EVANSTON, IL — More than nine months after a Northwestern student identified him as the man who raped and choked her at a party he was hosting, an Evanston man has been arrested on three felony counts of sexual assault and battery, police said.

Nicholas D. Nelson, 22, of the 2000 block of Sherman Avenue in Evanston, was ordered held under house arrest with electronic monitoring following a Nov. 1 bond hearing, according to the Cook County Sheriff's Office.

Police said Nelson faces charges of aggravated criminal sexual assault, criminal sexual assault where he knows the victim is unable to give consent and aggravated battery for strangulation.

The charges stem from an incident that took place on the night of Feb. 3 and early morning of Feb. 4, according to police reports.

Nelson was throwing a party that night at a home in the 2000 block of Maple Avenue, according to a woman who told police she had known Nelson for about three years.

According to an online resume, Nelson, a Minnesota native, was a member of the Phi Delta Theta fraternity who had been in his third year at Northwestern pursuing an undergraduate degree in biomedical engineering. (The fraternity chapter’s president said Nelson was removed in June of 2016 as the result of a legal incident unrelated to sexual misconduct.)

The woman told investigators she was offered alcohol at the party and remembers drinking but blacked out after downing multiple shots of vodka.

After a period of time, she awoke to find a naked Nelson on top of her and choking her, police were told. She recognized that she was in Nelson's room at the time and attempted to push him off of her, according to police.

The woman said she could not remember any other details about the night, but the next morning she awoke to discover that she had suffered injuries "consistent with a sexual assault," police said. She soon reported the incident to police and university officials and both opened investigations.

Police said the felony review unit of the Cook County State's Attorney's Office initially declined to file criminal charges. But Evanston police continued investigating, collecting additional forensic evidence and witness statements.

Following civil proceedings that led to the the man's expulsion from the university, prosecutors approved the three felony charges, according to police. Northwestern spokespeople did not immediately provide any comment on the case.

According to police reports, Nelson made statements indicating he was responsible for a "sexual assault and other violations." Police said the case is expected to be heard by a grand jury, which may indict Nelson on additional charges.

Nelson did not immediately respond to a request for comment about the case. He is due back in court Nov. 20, according to sheriff's office records.