Plea Deal Keeps Former Frat President Accused Of Rape Out Of Jail

A former Baylor fraternity president accused of drugging, gagging and repeatedly raping a woman will avoid jail and won't have to register as a sex offender due to a plea deal reached in the case.

Texas Judge Ralph Strother agreed to accept a plea deal for Jacob Walter Anderson that allows him to plead no contest to unlawful restraint.

Anderson had been initially indicted on sexual assault charges after a woman claims she became disoriented after being given punch at a party and was then taken by Anderson behind a tent where she said he gagged, choked and sexually assaulted her, the Associated Press reports.

The woman, who has not been identified, voiced her frustration with the deal, which requires Anderson to pay a $400 fine and seek counseling as part of a deferred judgment.

The four counts of sexual assault against him were dismissed as part of the deal and there will be no final judgment of guilt if he completes his probation under the deferred judgment guidelines, according to the Waco Tribune-Herald.

"I not only have to live with this rape and the repercussions of the rape, I have to live with the knowledge that the McLennan County justice system is severely broken," the woman said of the deal in a family statement according to the AP. "I have to live with the fact that after all these years and everything I have suffered, no justice was achieved."

In court, she urged the judge to reject the deal and began to cry loudly when Strother said he would accept the plea.

She also criticized McLennan County District Attorney Abel Reyna and Assistant District Attorney Hilary LaBorde for opting not to attend the hearing.

“If I had the courage to come back to Waco and face my rapist and testify, you could at least have had enough respect for me to show up today,” she said during a victim impact statement, according to the Tribune-Herald. “You both will have to live with this decision to let a rapist run free in society without any warning to future victims. I wonder if you will have nightmares every night watching Jacob rape me over and over again?"

She has said Anderson left her for dead face down in the dirt after she lost consciousness during the alleged assault.

She also addressed Anderson directly telling him it must be terrible to be him and said he will have to go through life knowing "what you did to me." She also told him, "you ruined my life, stole my virginity and stole many other things from me."

Reyna defended the plea deal in October saying the McLennan County District Attorney's Office believes it "achieved the best result possible with the evidence at hand," the AP reports.

LaBorde has also said the prosecutor's decision has to be taken in context of the evidence and circumstances surrounding the case.

"Given the claims made publicly, I understand why people are upset," she said, according to KXXV. "However, all the facts must be considered and there are many facts the public does not have."

The woman at the center of the case says she continues to be haunted by the alleged attack and instead of graduating from Baylor and living on her own pursuing a career, she's now in therapy, has nightmares and continues to be triggered by memories of the night in 2016.

"It’s been a very difficult three years. It will continue to be rough for a very long time," she said in her statement, which was published by KXXV.

She also thanked the 85,000 people around the world who signed a petition opposing the deal, as well as her family, who she said she "would not be alive without."

She has filed a lawsuit against Anderson and the Phi Delta Theta fraternity, where Anderson once served as president. It is still pending, according to the Tribune-Herald.

[Photo: McLellan County Sheriff's Office]