The UC Police Dept. arrested a 22-year-old UCSB student yesterday morning on three felony charges of sexual assault.

UCPD Sgt. Mark Signa said UCSB student Cristobal Ortega is being charged with statutory rape, rape of an intoxicated person and oral copulation with a minor. Following his Tuesday arrest, Ortega was booked into Santa Barbara County Jail with bail set at $60,000. Bill Schlotter, UCSB public affairs writer, said Ortega is a transfer student from Oxnard College.

The charges stem from a Feb. 3 incident in which a 17-year-old female Santa Barbara resident was sexually assaulted in a room in San Rafael Hall while two other students physically assaulted her boyfriend in the hallway, Signa said.

Signa said police obtained a search warrant to investigate Ortega’s San Rafael room, which was not the room of the alleged assault. Signa said police arrived at 8 a.m. to take Ortega to the UC Police Dept. for questioning. Police charged Ortega based on statements from him, the female victim and witnesses, as well as physical evidence, Signa said.

“Based on statements from Ortega, it was determined that Ortega was aware of the victim’s age and that she was extremely intoxicated, but he still chose to have sexual intercourse with her,” Signa said. “The victim was not injured as a result of her assault.”

Signa said the female victim and her 18-year-old boyfriend, who is also a Santa Barbara resident, met Ortega and two other UCSB students in Isla Vista on Thursday night, after which they went to a San Rafael room to continue drinking. Signa said a fight broke out between the victim’s boyfriend and the two UCSB students in the hallway. While the fight was happening outside, Ortega allegedly sexually assaulted the 17-year-old girl inside the room, Signa said. He said jealousy may have prompted the victim’s boyfriend to get into the fight.

“He is believed to have gotten into the fight due to interactions between the students and the victim,” Signa said.

Signa said the male victim was seriously injured when UCPD arrived on the scene at 11:58 p.m. Thursday night. Police are still investigating the physical assault of the male victim, as well as charges of battery with serious injury against the two students involved, but no other arrests have been made.

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