Kenechukwu Denzel Ugwueze
Santa Barbara – When an 18-year-old Santa Barbara City College student football player was arrested on suspicion of raping a local woman of the same age in her Mesa area home on September 11th, any report of the arrest was apparently withheld from the media.
The circumstances leading to the arrest of Kenechukwu Denzel Ugwueze, a student residing in Santa Barbara, allegedly occurred in the morning of September 1st, pursuant to which, according to Santa Barbara Police Department Public Information Officer Sgt. Riley Harwood, “officers responded to a a location in Santa Barbara County” to investigate a reported rape.
Officers learned that Ugwueze and the alleged victim were “recent acquaintances” and that while they were both at Ugwueze’s apartment, he “forcibly raped the victim.”
Ten days later, an arrest warrant to the tune of $100,000 was issued for Ugwueze, and on the evening of September 11th he was arrested at his residence. Santa Barbara City College administrators and staff were remarkably silent about the arrest of Ugwueze; following a public records request, it was learned only that he is no longer a student at the college. For their part, law enforcement information is notably scant, indicating only that “the Santa Barbara County District Attorney’s office is currently prosecuting the case,” with no report of weapon involvement or injury to the victim.
Ugwueze was arraigned on charges of forcible rape on October 19th, with his next court appearance scheduled for today, November 2nd at the behest of Santa Barbara County Assistant District Attorney Von Nguyen.
Photo: Courtesy Santa Barbara County Jail Booking
