UWM Kenilworth apartments sexual assault, case dismissed at trial

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Milwaukee County Courthouse

MILWAUKEE - Two men were accused of sexually assaulting a woman inside a University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee housing facility last year. Now, the case against one of those men has been dropped.

In court

What we know:

Prosecutors charged 23-year-old Heaven'l Parker with two counts of second-degree sexual assault. Court records show the case went to trial on Monday Aug. 4. 

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The trial continued through Wednesday, when records show the defense moved to dismiss and the court granted that motion. The case was dismissed with prejudice, meaning it cannot be refiled.

Dig deeper:

Parker was one of two men charged in the case. Brendan Hoover, 25, pleaded guilty to third-degree sexual assault as part of a deal with prosecutors in March. He's scheduled to be sentenced on Aug. 15.

S.A.F.E. phone at UW-Milwaukee

Charges filed

The backstory:

WARNING: The information below related to this case may be disturbing to some readers.

According to a criminal complaint, the victim reported the sexual assault to UWM campus police the day after it happened. She said she left work on the night of Feb. 2, 2024, and went to a bar to meet a friend – and the last thing she remembered after talking to Hoover at the bar was waking up Saturday in a bedroom at the university's Kenilworth Square Apartments.

Per the complaint, the victim said Hoover and a man who she did not know were in the room with her. That's when she said Hoover recounted a series of events that happened the previous night, including sexual intercourse that the victim told police she did not consent to.

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After leaving Kenilworth Square Apartments, the complaint states the victim reported vaginal soreness, and was dizzy, nauseous and had a headache. She went to a hospital to receive a sexual assault examination.

Police reviewed surveillance from the bar and the surrounding area. It showed Hoover, a second man and the victim leaveing the bar together.

Hoover later told investigators, according to the complaint, that he met the second man at the bar. He told police he had consensual sex with the victim, and while the other man also had sex with the victim, he did not know if that man received consent. 

Prosecutors initially identified Parker as the second man who was in the room, on surveillance and at the bar, and said he declined to make a statement. He is no longer accused of any crimes associated with the case.