A Colorado State University student has been charged with stalking and sexual assault. Police say the student manipulated and romanced two female friends for months after forging fake online profiles.
According to her arrest affidavit obtained by the Coloradoan, Jalen Perez, a 20-year-old sophomore biological sciences major, is accused of fabricating social media accounts to trick two female friends into forming relationships with who they thought were male CSU students.
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The police say that Perez sexually assaulted one of the two female friends and attempted to convince the friend that it was not sexual assault, posing as one of the male students the victim talked to online.
According to the Coloradoan, the victim told police that Perez sexually assaulted her one night in the fall after getting drunk. Perez did not think the victim would remember the incident, but the victim did not report the incident to police because Perez, posing as the male identities, convinced her it was not wrong.
According to the Coloradoan, Perez told police initially that she kissed the victim and later sexual contact was consensual.
The two female friends said they became suspicious of Perez when plans to meet the two male students fell through. Perez claimed to know the two men and would give the two females reasons why their online boyfriends could not meet them, according to the Coloradoan.
Perez has been charged with sexual assault, two counts of stalking and first-degree criminal tampering.
Collegian news reporter Haley Candelario can be reached at news@collegian.com or on Twitter @H_Candelario98.
