A UB teaching assistant was arrested and charged with rape and assault this weekend.
Jinho Choi, a Ph.D. candidate who is a teaching assistant in the linguistics department, was charged with first-degree rape and third-degree assault after an incident that occurred early Saturday morning.
The New York State penal code defines first-degree rape as the use of force resulting in sexual intercourse without consent.
Choi, 30, faces criminal charges and has been suspended from UB, said Dennis Black, vice president for Student Affairs.
Between 1998 and 2003, there have been four reported rapes at UB, said John Woods, assistant chief of University Police.
In addition to the Oct. 16 first-degree rape incident, a third-degree rape incident was reported on Oct. 15. The incident occurred in Flint Village and involved alcohol, according to the incident report. The victim of the Flint Village incident declined prosecution, police said.
Both Black and Christensen said that they are not aware of any other faculty-student rape cases at UB.
Christensen added that the Anti-Rape Task Force provides all free services ranging from counseling for crime victims to assistance with bill coverage.
Choi teaches a section of Korean 101 at UB.
Photo: Courtesy of Matthew Messina, from the RMBERS' Instagram page
