Update: Prosecutors dropped all charges against Akhil Kancherla.
Editor's note: This story contains graphic descriptions of sexual battery.
A 19-year-old UF sophomore and Phi Delta Theta fraternity brother was arrested by the Gainesville Police Department Wednesday at 10:47 a.m. under charges of sexual battery. His fraternity later suspended him indefinitely.
Akhil Kancherla and the victim were acquaintances communicating via Snapchat over the past three weeks, according to the police report. Kancherla and the victim ran into each other at a bar downtown Wednesday and went to Kancherla’s residence around 1 a.m., where they had consensual sex.
Soon after, the victim alleged Kancherla forced himself upon them even as the victim expressed the lack of consent repeatedly, the report says. Kancherla stopped, but only after some time, according to the police report.
Phi Delta Theta suspended Kancherla indefinitely after learning of the charge and instructed him to have no contact with members, said Moutaz Talas, the fraternity president.
“We are concerned about the alleged victim and do not condone any conduct resulting in sexual assault or battery,” Talas wrote in an email.
The victim left Kancherla’s residence around 3 a.m. and completed a sexual assault exam at a local hospital.
Kancherla confirmed to police he stopped engaging in sexual activity with the victim after the victim expressed they didn’t want to engage in sexual activity. The victim alleged Kancherla didn’t stop for several minutes, while Kancherla said he stopped within five seconds.
The police report reveals Kancherla provided various conflicting information.
Kancherla told police that he was too drunk to consent to sex with the victim and that the victim took advantage of him. Then, he told police that he could make conscious decisions, was aware of what was going on and that the level of alcohol he consumed didn’t exceed the level that he was used to and could handle.
Kancherla told police he used a condom during both sexual encounters. This conflicted with the victim’s account, where they told police no condom was used that night. After police informed Kancherla they were actively working on a search warrant to recover the condom from his residence, he admitted to police he had never worn a condom.
The victim alleged that the second sexual encounter wasn’t consensual, which conflicts with Kancherla’s recount that the two were active participants, according to the police report.
Kancherla admitted once he engaged in sex with the victim for a second time, he wasn’t sure if the victim was actively participating. Then, he told police the victim did express to him that they wanted him to stop during the second sexual encounter, and he stopped after some time.
He told police that he takes responsibility for the time between when the victim expressed that they didn’t want to engage in sex and when he stopped. He was apologetic for his actions, the police report says.
Kancherla was released on a bond of $100,000. The conditions set for his bond are that he cannot have direct or indirect contact with the victim during pretrial release and is ordered to abide by a standing no contact order, according to the first appearance order.
Contact Naomi at nvolcy@alligator.org. Follow her on Twitter @volcyn_.
Naomi Volcy is a third-year journalism major and the university general assignment reporter for The Alligator. Previously, she was an Avenue staff writer. In her spare time, she enjoys reading mangas, listening to R&B or Indie Rock and dressing up.
