By JAMES BELL
Hays Post
Following a preliminary hearing Thursday morning, Fernando Insaurralde Cantero, 20, Paraguay, pleaded not guilty to suspicion of rape, aggravated criminal sodomy and aggravated burglary following an allegation from a Fort Hays State University student he had came into her dorm room the morning of Sept. 20 and had sexual intercourse without consent.
During the testimony heard in the preliminary hearing, the victim testified to being “very, very, very drunk” when she went to her room to sleep, to awake later with Cantero on top of her.
“I didn’t know him,” she said. “I was not coherent at all.”
She also testified there had been no communication whatsoever with Cantero during the encounter, waking up later in the morning, fully undressed, “confused,” as to what had happened.
Following the incident, testimony came out during the hearing that at 3:54 a.m. she had texted her roommate, questioning who had been in her room.
Officer Joshua Fleenor, FHSU police officer, testified during the hearing that video surveillance during the evening confirmed Cantero had been moving through the building with two others.
The two acquaintances of Cantero that were with him before the alleged incident occurred testified in the hearing, fleshing out events of the night.
Brandon Mitchell and Joseph Herrington both testified they had been with Cantero in the dorms, but only Herrington accompanied Cantero to the room of the victim.
Herrington testified he had met with Cantero in the common area of the floor both of them resided on in their dorm building. The pair then went floor to floor, opening doors in the girls area of the dorm in an effort to find someone that wanted to “hang out.”
When the pair reached the victim’s door, Herrington said Cantero walked in, whispered something to the girl, followed by an embrace and kissing. He said in a statement given to law enforcement she appeared “passed out” and was laying on top of her bedding, fully clothed when they arrived at the room. Herrington then left the area.
Herrington said he has heard of others going door to door in a similar manner, but it was not a common occurrence for him. He also testified he believed Cantero was intoxicated at the time.
The incident was investigated by the FHSU Police Department, Kansas Bureau of Investigation, the Ellis County Sheriff’s Office and the Hays Police Department. During the investigation, Fleenor said language was clearly a barrier, so Cantero spoke with officers through a translator. He used a translator during the hearing, as well.
“She waved for him to come in,” Cantero told police, and told police, “It was just regular sex.”
After the incident allegedly occurred, Fleenor said the footage showed he had a “completely different demeanor” leaving the area than he had going into the area.
Following the preliminary hearing, the prosecutor and defense agreed to move into the arraignment, during which Cantero pleaded not guilty to all three counts. He is currently being detained at the Ellis County jail, awaiting a bond hearing.
A jury trial will be set for the case at a later date.