Villanova University student arrested for alleged sexual assault

A Villanova University sophomore has been charged with attempted sexual assault after a classmate told Delaware County detectives that he forced her to perform a sex act against her will, prosecutors said Tuesday.

Iyanu Solomon, 19, was arraigned Tuesday afternoon on that charge, a felony, as well as indecent assault, simple assault, and unlawful restraint, court records show. He remained in custody Tuesday in lieu of 10% of $250,000 bail. There was no indication he had hired an attorney.

Delaware County District Attorney Jack Stollsteimer said the victim contacted his office earlier this month about the incident, which took place in September 2019. The woman initially declined to press charges but changed her mind in late February after being harassed by Solomon, according to Stollsteimer.

“We recognize that pressing criminal charges is an agonizing decision for victims,” Stollsteimer said in a statement. “I want to commend the victim in this case for having the courage to come forward in order to protect their campus community from further harm.”

Two other female students reported to campus police on March 1 that they, too, had been assaulted by Solomon, and university police are investigating those allegations, Stollsteimer said. Solomon has since been removed from campus, he said.

The woman in the 2019 case met Solomon at the school in the weeks before the start of their freshman year, according to the affidavit of probable cause for his arrest. He was there early with his teammates on the school’s football team, and she was there for an extracurricular program that allowed early move-in, the affidavit said.

Solomon repeatedly asked the woman to send him nude photos, and allegedly became upset when she refused, calling her a “tease.” On Sept. 2, 2019, the affidavit said, he asked the woman to meet him in his dorm room at Stanford Hall to talk. He then assaulted her and forced her to perform a sex act, she told detectives.

When the woman tried to leave, she told detectives, he threw her to the ground and continued to assault her, despite her pleas for him to stop. She said he stopped and let her go only when she began to pray aloud.

The victim reported the assault to the resident assistant in her own dorm, but declined to fill out a report with campus police, the affidavit said. She changed her mind in August, and agreed to be interviewed but still declined to press criminal charges.

That changed in late February, when Solomon continued to spread rumors about her around campus and harass her, the affidavit said.

A spokesperson for Villanova said in a statement that the university is cooperating as Stollsteimer’s office investigates the alleged assault.

“There is no place for sexual misconduct of any kind on Villanova’s campus or in our community,” the spokesperson said. “These acts constitute the deepest affront to University standards and will not be tolerated in any form.”