A student at Menlo College has been charged with the alleged rape of a 12-year-old girl inside his campus dorm room.
San Mateo County prosecutors accused Andres Manuel Aguilar, 19, of luring the underage girl to his dormitory room after the two met at a Menlo Park transit stop.
Aguilar allegedly gave the victim his phone number during their initial encounter and subsequently persuaded her to meet him on May 5, according to authorities. Investigators noted that while the victim allegedly told the suspect she was 17, Aguilar admitted to law enforcement that he knew that she was still underage.
Prosecutors said that the victim snuck out of her house after dark to meet Aguilar.
The pair reportedly went to a Redwood City Safeway to buy rum and beer before heading to the campus in Atherton. Dorm surveillance footage captured the pair entering Aguilar’s residence hall room, KRON4 reported.
Inside the room, the suspect allegedly provided the girl with alcohol and vaped cannabis, prosecutors said.
The victim’s mother, speaking anonymously to protect her child’s identity, detailed the agonizing night.
“She waited until everybody was asleep and snuck out of the house,” the mother told KRON4. “They ended up going to the college, where she as raped.”
The suspect is accused of stripping off the victim’s pants while she repeatedly protested, authorities said. Out of a sudden fear of a potential pregnancy, Aguilar allegedly used DoorDash to order emergency Plan B contraception to the room, according to court documents.
Aguilar, of San Jose, is currently being held without bail on multiple felonies, including aggravated sexual assault of a child, aggravated sexual assault of a minor involving oral copulation, and providing marijuana to a minor under 14.
San Mateo County District Attorney Steve Wagstaffe emphasized that the victim’s age changes the legal severity of the prosecution.
“If a child is 13 and under, society treats that much more seriously,” Wagstaffe said in a statement. “The penalties are much higher. There is never any argument that a child could have consented in any fashion to it, and it really becomes serious when you deal with a 12-year-old child.”
Aguilar faces a maximum penalty of life in prison if convicted.
Though initially set for a mid-summer court appearance, Aguilar’s hearing was pushed back to August 27. The delay allows police and prosecutors additional time to pursue leads regarding a potential second victim.
Authorities are urging anyone with information to contact the Atherton Police Department.
“If you know this man, if you’ve had any negative interactions of him, or if you are a victim of rape by him,” the mother said, “come forward.”
The incident has stunned the community at Menlo College, an exclusive, private business institution known for its tight-knit undergraduate student body of roughly 810 to 880 students.
The campus is highly regarded globally, with the Center for World University Rankings (CWUR) placing it in the top 8.3% of universities worldwide and ranking it No. 62 globally for graduate employability. It also boasts an AACSB business accreditation held by fewer than 5% of schools worldwide.
University administrators have declined to release specific details about the suspect’s enrollment status, citing privacy protocols.
“We take all allegations of criminal conduct and misconduct involving our community with the utmost seriousness,” a Menlo College spokesperson said in a statement provided to KRON4. “In accordance with federal and state privacy laws, we are unable to confirm identities or provide details regarding ongoing investigations.”
The case follows a recent investigation at UC Santa Barbara of an alleged rape that triggered massive pushback from student advocacy groups.
Similarly, UCLA recently dealt with security alarms after a man with no university affiliation was arrested for a series of separate physical assaults against multiple women, including students, across university grounds.
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