WAYNE – Two Wayne State College students face criminal charges in Wayne County District Court for allegedly sexually assaulting a female student on campus during the spring 2024 semester.
Nokutendaishe Joel and Katlego Nqandela, both 21 and originally from South Africa, are studying abroad. According to an investigation by the Wayne Police Department, they are accused of first-degree sexual abuse. Nqandela was also charged with providing alcohol to a minor, which is a misdemeanor.
According to affidavits filed by a Wayne Police Department officer, the police department received a call from Providence Medical Center on April 8 after a 20-year-old college student went to the hospital to undergo a sexual abuse evaluation.
The student later told police that she and her 19-year-old friend went to a small gathering at Anderson Hall on the Wayne State University campus on the evening of April 6 to drink alcohol.
The group included Joel, Nqandela and a third man who has not been charged with a crime. Joel and the third man were enrolled at Wayne State at the time, the affidavit said, and Nqandela had recently withdrawn from classes.
When the 20-year-old woman and her friend arrived at the dorm room in Anderson Hall, the two drank alcohol that was allegedly purchased by Nqandela.
At one point, Nqandela allegedly disappeared from view of the group, returned with two shot glasses and gave them to the two women. About 10 minutes after consuming the glasses, the two became ill and ran to the toilet. Both later told police that they could not remember anything after using the toilet.
The 20-year-old said she woke up the next morning naked in her own room at Bowen Hall dormitory, her body covered in bruises. She also found a hat belonging to Nqandela in her room.
The woman contacted Joel the next morning, who allegedly admitted that the two had sexual intercourse in a restroom in Anderson Hall the night before. A third student who was with the group in Anderson Hall said she noticed around 1 a.m. that Joel and the alleged victim were no longer in the group. The woman knocked on the restroom door and tried to get the attention of Joel and the 20-year-old, who both joined the rest of the group a few minutes later.
When Joel was questioned by police, he initially denied that there had been any sexual contact between him and the 20-year-old in the washroom. He later said he tried to initiate sex with the woman, but she refused because she was angry with him. According to police, he eventually admitted to having sex with the woman.
The third woman told police that the 20-year-old had difficulty maintaining a conversation and that he spoke incoherently at times. She said the woman and her 19-year-old friend began behaving abnormally after taking the shots administered by Nqandela.
The witness added that the 20-year-old was not of sound mind and would not have been able to consent to sexual contact or interaction.
According to court documents, Joel and the third man eventually began escorting the women, aged 20 and 19, back to Bowen Hall. Nqandela, the witness said, said he was concerned that the women, aged 20 and 19, were with Joel and the third man and insisted that he (Nqandela) and the third woman go to Bowen with the rest of the group.
When the two women returned to their room in Bowen, the rest of the group, except Nqandela, left the room. The witness said she noticed Nqandela lagging behind as they all left the dorm, so she pulled Nqandela outside. But, she said, Nqandela left the door open and went back into the dorm.
The woman and Nqandela got into an argument over Nqandela’s preference to stay in Bowen. This conversation was captured on video. Nqandela allegedly said he wanted to spend more time with the 20-year-old.
The woman who had argued with Nqandela said she had grown tired of arguing with him and had gone to catch up with the rest of the group.
According to police, surveillance footage shows Nqandela entering Bowen Hall wearing a hat at around 2:40 a.m. on April 7 and leaving the building without a hat at 9:19 a.m.
Nqandela was seen later that morning with a cut on his lip and blood on his shirt. He did not answer questions about where the blood came from.
When questioned by police, Nqandela said he could not remember anything that happened the night after he left Anderson Hall.
Nqandela is in jail on $250,000 bail. He pleaded not guilty in July and is due back in court on Wednesday, September 4.
Joel pleaded not guilty on Wednesday and is free after posting 10% of the $100,000 bail. District Judge Ross Stoffer had set Joel’s bail at $250,000, but reduced the amount during a court hearing in June.
Joel’s attorney, Nate Stratton, filed a motion to dismiss Tuesday, contesting a district court’s finding that there was enough evidence to send Joel’s case to district court. If convicted, Joel faces up to 50 years in prison.
If convicted, Nqandela faces up to 51 years in prison.
Jay Collier, director of university relations at Wayne State University, did not respond to a request for comment on whether the college has taken disciplinary action against Joel or Nqandela and whether they are still enrolled at the school.
