A former Penn State student is facing charges that he repeatedly struck and filmed a woman without her consent during a sexual encounter last fall in a University Park dorm room.
Karston Chan, 22, of Montgomery County, was arraigned Monday on misdemeanor charges of unlawful restraint, simple assault and invasion of privacy.
Penn State University Police responded to UPMC Altoona hospital on Sept. 10 after receiving a call from staff about a woman seeking treatment for sexual assault, according to an affidavit of probable cause. The woman “had obvious hand marks and bruising to her face, collarbone and neck,” police wrote.
The woman, who attends another college, told police that she went to Chan’s room in Simmons Hall the night of Sept. 9 and they began having consensual sex, according to the affidavit. Chan then allegedly bit her neck, causing her to bleed, and took out his cell phone in an attempt to record her.
When the woman repeatedly objected to being recorded, Chan “became enraged,” holding her down by pressing on her clavicle and striking her in the face and head multiple times “with everything he had in him,” police wrote.
She told police she tried to push Chan away but she was unable to because he was bigger and stronger than her.
One blow landed on her ear, she said, causing ringing and partial hearing loss, and she became dizzy and nauseous, according to the affidavit. She noticed that her face began to swell, she was crying, and “recalled being exhausted and terrified,” police wrote.
The woman told Chan she wanted to leave immediately, at which point he pushed her down on the bed, got on top of her and told her if she didn’t let him record her, he would tie her up and record her anyway, according to the affidavit.
Chan then began recording the woman with his phone as she attempted to block her face with her hands and arms during a second sexual encounter that a Penn State detective twice described in the affidavit as nonconsensual. (Chan has not been charged with rape or sexual assault.)
The woman said that after the alleged assault Chan walked her out of the dorm, first checking the hallway to avoid being seen, according to the affidavit.
A search of Chan’s phone found video of him striking the woman in the face and head with an open hand, and the woman covering her face with her hands “in a defensive posture,” police wrote. Chan first told police he did not record the woman, then said she asked him not to record her but later changed her mind and allowed him to, according to the affidavit.
The woman, police wrote, “received and continues to receive medical care consistent with treatment for concussion.”
Chan, who is not longer listed as a Penn State student, was released on his own recognizance after preliminary arraignment. A preliminary hearing is scheduled for Aug. 27.
