'Hundreds' Watched Two College Students Sexually Assault Woman on Beach

By Anna Merlan  |  April 13, 2015 | 3:10pm
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Two college students from Troy University in Alabama have been arrested and charged with sexual battery for allegedly sexually assaulting an incapacitated woman at a Panama City, Florida beach during spring break. Police said that “hundreds” of people witnessed the assault, but no one intervened.

According to the Associated Press, the arrested students are Delonte Martistee, 22, a senior from Bainbridge, Georgia, and Ryan Calhoun, 23, a sophomore from Mobile, Alabama. Both men are being charged with sexual battery by multiple perpetrators, and police told the AP “more arrests” are expected. A video taken of the incident is said to show multiple men surrounding a woman lying on a beach chair, apparently incapacitated. She later told police she believes she was drugged.

In a press release, Bay County Sheriff Frank Frank McKeithen said the video was obtained by the Troy Police; one news report indicates that the police got it while investigating a shooting in Troy. The police located the victim, spoke to witnesses, and determined the assault happened between March 10 and March 12. Troy University released a brief statement, which reads:

The students have been placed on temporary suspension from school per the University’s Standards of Conduct and disciplinary procedures. Martistee, a member of the track and field team, has also been removed from the team.

According to the Florida penal code, sexual battery is defined as “oral, anal, or vaginal penetration by, or union with, the sexual organ of another or the anal or vaginal penetration of another by any other object.”

Sheriff McKeithen told the AP the video was “very, very graphic” and called it “the most disgusting, sickening thing” he’d ever seen. Ruth Corley, a spokesperson for the sheriff’s office, said a portion of the video not showing the assault was released “to show the crowd that was surrounding the incident and to show people, not only was it a horrible event, but it was witnessed by so many people who did absolutely nothing to stop or call police.”

Delonte Martistee, left, and Ryan Calhoun, right. Photos via Bay County Sheriff’s Office

 
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