Charges dropped against William Paterson students charged in dorm sex assault

WAYNE, N.J. -- Charges have been dismissed against five students at New Jersey's William Paterson University who had been accused of kidnapping and sexually assaulting a female student at a dormitory after a grand jury refused to indict them.

Jahmel Latimer, of Hoboken, Darius Singleton, of Jersey City, Garret Collick, of Paterson, Noah Williams, of Camden, and Tremaine Scott, of Vineland, had pleaded not guilty to the charges in December.

The charges were dropped after the Passaic County grand jury refused to indict the men this week.

Latimer's attorney, Ron Ricci, said defense attorneys for each of the men provided evidence to prosecutors "that this was not a sexual assault." He said the case was presented to a grand jury Monday.

"I am not going to get into the specifics, just that the facts demonstrated that this was not a sexual assault, and the actions of those young men were not in violation of the law. It clearly wasn't a crime," he told the newspaper.

The five men were expelled following the allegations and Ricci said "it was outrageous that these young men had to go through the publicity that they had to go through."

University President Kathleen Waldron said in a statement that the school's independent student conduct process will continue.

"The University does not take any allegations of sexual assault lightly and will continue to adhere to all legal requirements and University policies and procedures in such matters. We are committed to the safety and well being of all our students," she said.