UW-L students accused of assault plead not guilty
By ANNE JUNGEN | ajungen@lacrossetribune.com | Posted: Friday, October 15, 2010 12:00 am
He was pinned to a dorm room floor by someone he considered a friend, he said, while another yanked down his pants. Then came excruciating pain.
I didnt know what was happening, a former University of Wisconsin-La Crosse freshman testified Thursday.
UW-L freshman Brayden Wienke is accused of restraining the 18-year-old in a Sanford Hall room about 2:30 p.m. Sept. 27 while fellow student Casey Gudis sodomized him with a lint roller handle, according to court records.
Gudis, 18, and Wienke, 19, pleaded not guilty Thursday to first-degree sexual assault during their preliminary hearing in La Crosse County Circuit Court. Wienke is charged as party to the crime.
La Crosse County District Attorney Tim Gruenke made an unusual request at the start the hearing to close the courtroom to anyone other than family members. About 15 people left.
The victim testified Wienke earlier in the afternoon had threatened an anal assault after the victim tossed playing cards at him.
He was attacked in front of three other students, who laughed during the incident, after he reached for a Nerf gun.
Wienke said, Now I got back at you for throwing cards, the victim said.
The student also testified he was subjected to verbal and physical abuse and that Wienke told him no one would care if he left the university.
The victim no longer is a student, while Gudis and Wienke are on emergency suspension.
Gudis, of Ladysmith, Wis., and Wienke, of Clear Lake, Wis., return to court Jan. 6 for status conferences.