UW-Madison Student Alec Cook Facing 15 Charges For Alleged Sexual Assaults

Cook Charged With 14 Felonies, 1 Misdemeanor For Allegedly Assaulting 5 Women

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University of Wisconsin-Madison student Alec Cook has been charged with 15 counts related to the alleged sexual assaults of five women on campus and in his off-campus apartment.

The 20-year-old’s charges included 14 felonies, such as second-degree sexual assault, strangulation and false imprisonment, and one misdemeanor of fourth-degree sexual assault. His bail was set at $200,000 Thursday.

Alison Kiss, executive director of the Clery Center for Security on Campus, said reports of sexual assault are up on campuses across the country. She attributes the increase to the breaking down of a culture that once silenced victims.

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“If they see other students or peers go through a process and they’re being treated fair or there’s accountability, then more people will come forward,” Kiss said.

Cook was first arrested Oct. 17 for allegedly sexually assaulting a 20-year-old woman in his apartment Oct. 12.

Detectives from the Madison Police Department searched Cook’s apartment and found a black leather journal that had a page with listed bullet points, including name, where the two met, and interesting facts/commonalities. Cook’s attorneys said this list only proves he was trying to keep track of his social interactions.

After the allegations were publicized, more women began coming forward. Madison police told the Wisconsin State Journal that dozens of women have reported their encounters with Cook.

Cook’s attorneys released a statement saying society shouldn’t believe accusers until there is actual evidence.

“As a nation and society, we believe that each and every one of us is presumed innocent until proven guilty,” attorneys Christopher Van Wagner and Jessa Nicholson Goetz wrote in the statement. “But blind acceptance of mere accusations – without hearing testimony or seeing physical evidence – leads to the stigmatization of innocent people.”

UW-Madison has placed Cook under emergency suspension and have banned him from campus.