Following an investigation into a sexual assault claim made by an Auburn University student, a 27-year-old man was charged with rape, police said.
Ryan Petro, of Ft. Bragg, North Carolina, was arrested by the Auburn Police Division on Oct. 8 and was charged with five counts of rape in the 1st degree.
The arrest stems from an investigation into a sexual assault that was reported by a 19-year-old female student at Auburn on May 29, 2018. The victim told police the incident took place at a local hotel in Auburn.
Forensic examination and analysis by the Alabama Department of Forensic Sciences led to Petro being positively identified as the person responsible for the sexual assault
Petro, who had been deployed to Afghanistan, according to APD, was arrested by the U.S. Army Criminal Investigative Division on Sept. 16, 2019 and was turned over to the Cumberland County Sheriff's Office in North Carolina.
Petro waived extradition and was transported to the Lee County Jail and held on a $500,000 bond.
The case remains under investigation by the APD and the U.S. Army.
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