Ex-University of St. Thomas football player guilty of raping fellow student in dorm
A onetime University of St. Thomas football player has been convicted of raping a fellow student in a dorm room more than three years ago.
Nicholas R. Schnack, 22, of Des Moines, remains free on bond ahead of sentencing scheduled for Dec. 17 in Ramsey County District Court after jurors convicted him of first-degree criminal sexual conduct in connection with the assault in Brady Hall in November 2018.
Schnack was a freshman offensive lineman for St. Thomas at the time of the assault. The 18-year-old female student reported to police three months later that Schnack had raped her in her dorm room.
St. Thomas officials conducted their own federally required Title IX investigation, according to the state's criminal complaint. Schnack acknowledged to school investigators having sex with the woman but contended that "the sexual contact was at all times consensual," the complaint read.
Schnack's attorney, Kevin DeVore, said Monday that the school's investigation backed the woman's allegations, and Schnack was forced to live off-campus through his freshman year.
Schnack left St. Thomas at the end of his freshman year, and in the fall of 2019 joined the Drake University football team in Des Moines. He was charged with the rape in November of 2019 and left Drake once the complaint was filed, his defense attorney said.
Still unclear is whether Drake officials knew about the St. Thomas investigation's findings while Schnack was pursuing a transfer.
St. Thomas spokeswoman Vineeta Sawkar said the school is prevented by law from discussing Title IX assault investigations without the consent of the student bringing the allegations.
According to the complaint:
Schnack met up with the woman in her dorm room after the two of them were socializing with others in a different dorm room. He accosted her and "bit her lip really hard," the complaint read, before he assaulted for about an hour her over her repeated objections.
Two of her friends visited the woman in her room moments later and noticed she appeared to be injured. She went to campus health services the next day, where an examination revealed several injuries on various parts of her body.
The woman "had a very hard time dealing with the assault and withdrew from the university," the complaint continued. She returned to campus to collect her possessions in February 2019 and filed her report with police.
Paul Walsh • 612-673-4482
