Former Trinity sophomore Eric Irons will now face rape allegations in district court May 16—marking the third time Irons’ court date has been moved since November.
Irons’ court date was originally scheduled for Nov. 9, 2010, but it was pushed back to Jan. 27. In January, the court date was again moved to March 21. The reasons for the delays remain unclear.
Irons was arrested by Duke Police Sept. 8 on charges of second-degree rape and first-degree kidnapping of a female student. The incident allegedly took place at a Central Campus apartment party April 17, according to the probable cause affidavit. Many witnesses reported the female student was “very intoxicated,” the affidavit reads.
Mitchell Garrell, the assistant district attorney previously handling the case, no longer works at the Durham County District Attorney’s Office. Garrell was dismissed from his post in December, although the reasons for his departure remain unclear, WRAL reported Dec. 20.
Assistant District Attorney Kelly Gauger, who started working in the office in the beginning of 2011, will handle Irons’ case.
In a January interview, Gauger declined to comment on Garrell’s departure and the delayed court date. Gauger could not be reached for comment Sunday.
Irons, a 19-year-old from Hong Kong, was charged and released Sept. 8 on a $75,000 bond, according to court records. He withdrew from the University Sept. 9 following his arrest.
Irons’ attorney Bill Thomas told The Chronicle in October that Irons plans to face the allegations in court. Thomas did not respond to multiple attempts for comment in the past two weeks.
“Eric Irons is an innocent man,” Thomas said in October. “We have located witnesses and have evidence that the allegations made against him are entirely false. I have every confidence that, once all of the facts are known, that Eric Irons will be completely exonerated of any wrongdoing whatsoever.”
In October, Thomas also declined to say whether Irons had returned to Hong Kong since withdrawing from Duke. According to his Facebook page, Irons currently lives in Hong Kong and attends Hong Kong International School.
Irons declined to speak with The Chronicle in a March 2 Facebook message.
“Please contact my lawyer, I will not comment on this,” Irons wrote.
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