Ex-student may be out of jail soon

Mercer County Prosecutor’s Office spokesperson Casey DeBlasio confirmed that on April 12, Princeton Borough police charged Little with kidnapping, aggravated assault, endangerment of an injured victim and making terroristic threats.

As a condition of his bail, Little is prohibited from having any interaction with certain persons involved in the case, DeBlasio said.

The Public Safety alert said, “The University has also prohibited Mr. Little from entering campus” and advised anyone who sees Little on or near campus to call 911.

Davall could not be reached for comment.

Mercer County Superior Court Judge Thomas Kelly reduced Little’s bail from $400,000 to $200,000 on the condition that he would have no contact with the victim, witnesses or the University community. At an April 10 University disciplinary hearing, Little was also banned from coming to campus.

In an interview with The Daily Princetonian yesterday, Little’s lawyer Jack Furlong said that the charges brought against his client are excessive, saying, “the kidnapping is the worst” of the charges.

“What I did see from the disciplinary hearing’s records did not lead me to conclude that there is any basis for a charge of kidnapping,” Furlong explained. He added, “Police tend to overreach and let the grand jury sort it out” and that he believes Princeton Borough police have “overreach[ed]” and brought too many charges in this case.

The criminal charges against Little concern a domestic violence incident that occurred in his Edwards Hall dorm room on March 9.

At around 1 a.m. on that date, Public Safety responded to a complaint of a woman crying for help in Little’s room but took no further action when the woman said she was fine, The Times of Trenton reported on Saturday.

The alleged victim told Borough Police in early April that after she broke up with Little, he had hit, elbowed and kicked her, Assistant Prosecutor Amy Devenny said at Friday’s bail hearing according to the Trenton Times. Devenny added that when the woman tried to escape, he “allegedly caught her, grabbed her by the neck, choked her and told her not to call police.”

Princeton Borough Police did not respond to requests for comment.

The prosecution is currently investigating whether the University should have taken more action in this case, DeBlasio said, adding that the prosecution will not release documents pertaining to the case because domestic violence complaints are confidential.

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Furlong said that he believes that “if the University took so long to do anything, it must have been because they thought the allegations weren’t that serious.”

University spokeswoman Cass Cliatt ’96 said, “The University action in this matter was very timely and responded to the many complicated aspects of this case.”

Though Furlong does not believe the University handled the situation inappropriately, he does believe that the prosecution should not be as aggressive “given the University’s cautious approach.”

Furlong also noted that his client said the freshman woman had denied repeatedly to University officials that Little harmed her. He explained that other students, not the freshman woman, claimed that Little had harmed the alleged victim.

Devenny, however, said that the freshman woman’s denial of the abuse does not surprise her and is not indicative of Little’s innocence.

“If I had a nickel from every victim who denied they were being abused, I’d be rich,” she said at Friday’s bail hearing, according to the Trenton Times article.

The article had also reported that photographs of the alleged victim’s bruises are being offered as evidence.

Furlong, however, who has seen the photographs, said that the “photographs do not substantiate claims of aggravated assault.”

Little has also been accused of violating a cease and desist order issued by the University ordering him not to contact the alleged victim, Furlong said.

Furlong denies that Little behaved improperly, saying the contact took place when both Little and the alleged victim were off campus over spring break.

“There are no records that he called her,” Furlong said, adding that, on the contrary, “Records reveal that [the alleged victim] called him repeatedly over spring break.”

“If he simply answers his phone while she is calling him, is he violating the order?” Furlong asked.

The grand jury will likely convene in about six months, Furlong said.

Until then, the prosecution will conduct its investigation and interview those involved.