A Loyola University freshman was charged with raping two female students in their dormitory rooms on consecutive nights this month, Cook County prosecutors said Tuesday.

Both victims knew Colin Kennedy and let him sleep in their rooms after he told them he could not get into his own dorm room, prosecutors said.

The second victim immediately reported the assault to two female friends, one of whom was the victim from the previous night, prosecutors alleged.

Judge Donald Panarese Jr. set bond at $300,000 for Kennedy on two counts of criminal sexual assault. The 18-year-old from Laguna Beach, Calif., dressed in a gray hooded sweatshirt and a T-shirt with the words, "Release the Wizard Inside of You," did not speak in court.

His attorney, Robert Kerr, told the judge that Kennedy is studying international business and is involved in the campus church.

Loyola University spokeswoman Maeve Kiley said the alleged attacks occurred in Fordham Hall, a dorm that houses about 350 students.

Prosecutors said in the first attack on Jan. 13, a 19-year-old woman who was a friend of Kennedy's returned to her room with him after a night out drinking.

Assistant State's Attorney Joell Zahr said the woman awoke in the middle of the night to find Kennedy sexually assaulting her, but she was intoxicated and passed out again. Kennedy went upstairs to another female friend's room wearing only boxer shorts and "made comments regarding what had just occurred," Zahr said.

The victim had fallen asleep fully clothed, but when she awoke the next morning she was naked and noticed Kennedy's clothes on the floor of her room, Zahr said. She told a friend about the attack and later notified university police, the prosecutor said.

The next night, the second victim, who recently turned 20, was having a small gathering in her dorm room that Kennedy attended, Zahr said. She let him sleep on her futon when he said he couldn't get into his own room, according to the prosecutor.

After the victim went to sleep, Kennedy got into her bed and "began groping her," Zahr said.

She continued to try to fight him off, but Kennedy raped her and then fell asleep, Zahr said.

The victim stayed up all night and then asked Kennedy to leave in the morning, Zahr said. She then notified two friends, including the first victim, according to the prosecutor. She later reported the attack to campus police, Zahr said.

Kennedy, who lived in a separate dorm about a block away from the alleged victims' hall, was arrested Sunday at a restaurant after a friend of the victims spotted him and texted police with his description and location, court records show.

In an unrelated attack, an alert from Loyola security, sent late Tuesday, warns of a Loyola student being robbed about 5 p.m. that day in an alley on the 6700 block of North Greenview Avenue.

While walking in the alley the victim was approached by two men, and one displayed a handgun. The two robbers tooks "several items of value" and left the scene, the alert said.

The victim could not provide detailed descriptions of the robbers. Anyone with information is asked to call Loyola Campus Safety at 773-508-6039 or the Chicago Police Department via 911.

jmeisner@tribune.com



