ROGERS PARK — Loyola University said it was unaware until last week that a student who had been given an athletic scholarship for golf at the school had been charged in the 2013 rape of a 15-year-old in Georgia.
Earlier this month, Loyola student Ben Holm pleaded guilty to felony rape and assault charges stemming from an incident in April 2013 in which he was caught sexually assaulting an intoxicated victim on a playground during a party at a country club in Georgia.
Weeks after the incident, Holm, then 18, graduated from high school and later moved to Chicago, where he played on the Loyola Ramblers men's golf team on an athletic scholarship. In November, he returned to Fulton County, Ga. to face a trial on the charges — which had been upgraded from misdemeanor statutory rape to felony rape, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported.
During jury deliberations, Holm entered a guilty plea to aggravated assault and statutory rape. The plea carried a 10-year prison sentence and 10 years of probation. He was booked into jail Dec. 5, according to police records.
After media reports, students began an online petition calling on Loyola to "make a statement apologizing" for allowing Holm to stay at the school. The petition also says the school needs "to educate students and faculty about rape culture and sexual violence."
The petition has more than 1,200 names.
When asked about the charges last week, a spokesperson said the school could not "comment on specific cases due to our students' privacy and procedural rights."
However on Friday, Thomas Kelly, the university's Title IX director, released a statement titled, "Addressing an Off-Campus Gender-Based Violent Crime" through the school's Office of the President.
"To our knowledge, we neither received information about the crime, nor had any awareness that it occurred until Monday, December 12, when we received a media inquiry," Kelly wrote Friday. "The individual is not registered for classes in the Spring Semester."
Loyola's Athletics Department provides mandatory Title IX training to students, staff and coaches, Kelly said.
The university also said it takes "gender-based violence" seriously and encourages students to report all incidents. The statement did not name Holm or use the word "rape."
Ashley Kennedy, the student who started the petition critical of the school's initial silence, called the university's statement "generic" but "a start."
"However, we all would like to see Loyola do more to dismantle rape culture on campus," Kennedy said.
Loyola did not respond to questions about the school's policy in situations where students with athletic scholarships are charged with a crime.
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