Temple student who pleaded guilty to sex abuse and burglary gets probation, suspended sentence

The former American University student now enrolled at Temple who entered female students’ dorm rooms without permission and touched one on the inner thigh while she slept will receive three years of supervised probation, the judge ruled at his sentencing hearing last week.

David Kramer-Fried, 21, got a suspended sentence of 15 months for second-degree burglary and a suspended sentence of 180 days for sexual abuse for the incidents that occurred in an American university dorm in October 2022 and led to student protests on campus. He also must pay $150 to a victims’ compensation fund.

Kramer-Fried pleaded guilty in June to misdemeanor sexual abuse and second-degree burglary — charges that don’t require him to register as a sex offender.

» READ MORE: A Temple student pleads to sexual abuse, burglary. Questions arise on whether Temple should let him stay

At the sentencing last week, Kramer-Fried’s public defender said he was currently enrolled at Temple, majoring in public health, according to the Eagle, American’s student newspaper.

“We can confirm that we are investigating, reviewing and addressing this matter pursuant to university policies, and any appropriate remedies will be implemented,” Temple said in a statement this week.

Ray Epstein, founder and president of the Temple group Student Activists Against Sexual Assault, said earlier this month that Kramer-Fried should not be allowed to attend Temple.

“I think people on campus would feel incredibly unsafe knowing that someone who has done what he’s done is present on the campus,” said Epstein, a senior from Washington, D.C., who also is student government president but noted she was speaking in her capacity as a student activist leader. “He clearly has proven himself to be a threat.”

During the incident, Kramer-Fried fled the room when the woman he touched awakened, according to court documents. Police later found a pair of women’s underwear in the front pocket of a hoodie that Kramer-Fried was seen wearing that night on security video, according to court documents. The university eventually barred him from campus.

In a victim impact statement, one of the female students said Kramer-Fried’s appearance in her room that night “is an image and a fear that will never leave me,” the Eagle reported.

“I wasn’t able to sleep for weeks after the incident, and I still live in fear of my bedroom being broken into at any moment and being taken advantage of in my sleep, all because of the defendant’s actions,” she wrote.

Kramer-Fried will continue to receive mental health services and waive doctor-patient privilege to give his probation officer access to his status, according to the Eagle.

Kramer-Fried’s sentence was applied under Washington, D.C.’s Youth Rehabilitation Act, which establishes alternative sentencing guidelines for those younger than 22.