Alabama college student charged with on-campus rape after accuser goes on social media
Published 12:16 pm Wednesday, March 31, 2021
An Alabama college student from Italy faces several charges including rape after his accuser — a fellow student — went public with her accusations on social media.
Vassil Kokali, 22, of Rome, Italy, faces charges of first-degree rape, first-degree burglary and first-degree sodomy. Kokali is a student at Spring Hill College in Mobile.
Each of the three charges against Kokali is a Class A felony carrying a penalty of 10 years to life in prison if convicted.
A Mobile County District Court judge on Tuesday set a $75,000 bail for Kokali. Kokali has since posted bond and surrendered his passport as a condition of the bond.
Local news sources report that the Mobile County District Attorney’s Office confirmed the charges are related to the incident at the college.
Kokali turned himself in to police after another student accused Kokali of sexually assaulting her earlier this month. Kokali’s accuser went on social media after reportedly growing frustrated with how the college in Mobile was handling her complaint. The school has declined to comment on the case, referring questions to the District Attorney’s Office.
Kokali’s attorney told local news sources that her client intends to clear his name after being falsely accused. Doggett said that Kokali has passed a lie detector test about the incident and is cooperating with the investigation.