An ASU student is suspected of assaulting his girlfriend inside her West campus dorm room Saturday night after she tried to break up with him, according to an ASU Police report.
The domestic violence case is under investigation by ASU Police and the Maricopa County Attorney’s Office, ASU Police Cmdr. Jim Hardina said.
Police reported a 19-year-old man went to his girlfriend’s dorm at Las Casas Residence Hall to help the 22-year-old put her bed on risers. When she tried to break up with him, he allegedly became violent, she told police.
The woman said he threw her on the bed during the confrontation and pinned her down, but she was too weak to fight him off, police reported. He then pushed her to the floor and she landed on a shoe, which hurt her back, according to the report.
She told police she convinced the man to leave and when she later went to his dorm to gather her belongings, he had already thrown them in the hallway. When she arrived, the two began arguing again and he pushed her, police reported.
The man’s roommate placed himself between the couple in an attempt to break up the fight and told the woman to leave, police reported.
She called the community assistant on duty, who then called University police, according to the report.
The woman told police she and her boyfriend had been in a relationship for about five months, and he only became violent on one other occasion, which was in recent weeks, police reported.
She told police she was going to break up with him because of his recent violent behavior and on-going verbal abuse.
According to the police report, the women told police, “He would get angry and start telling her she was worthless and deserved all the abuse she received in life.”
The man left Las Casas residence hall and the woman told police she didn’t know where he would be staying.
The woman’s grandfather picked her up to stay in his care for the night, and she filed an Order of Protection, a court order limiting his access to her, against the man Monday, according to the report.
The man did not stay in his Las Casas dorm room the night of the incident either, but returned Monday, according to Hardina. Police spoke to him and he said the woman’s story was false, and she provoked him by ripping his shirt, according to Hardina.
The woman said she only wanted the incident documented by police and did not want him arrested. Police told the woman suspects must be arrested in domestic violence cases, police reported.
Hardina said the man was arrested and charged Monday, then released pending the investigation.
The Maricopa County Attorney is reviewing the case.
ASU’s Health and Counseling Student Action Committee educates incoming freshman every year on how to maintain healthy relationships in dorms.
Wellness and Health Promotion Director Karen Moses said domestic violence in dorms is common among students all across the nation.
“We recognize it’s not unfamiliar turf among young people,” she said.
Reach the reporter at sraymund@asu.edu
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