 "Photo: Courtesy of Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office")
 "Photo: UP file photo")
Around 5 p.m. on March 11, Chris Ayala opened the front door of his third-floor Boca apartment and met a young girl. She was fundraising for her softball team and wanted to know whether he would buy a ticket for a breakfast at her school.
He bought one, then sold her a bad pick-up line when the 13-year-old claimed to be 16.
According to Boca Raton police, Ayala said, “You need to be 18 years old to play, but I’ll make an exception in your case.” Ayala, a finance major at FAU and former Student Government (SG) treasurer, asked her to come back later and “hang out.”
90 minutes later, she did come back, and according to Boca Raton officer Juan Carlos Pijuan’s police report, they sat together on Ayala’s bed and watched TV.
Then they “began to kiss, and eventually they removed their clothes. Chris then began to perform oral sex.”
Afterward, the girl returned the favor, and then “Chris put on a condom and they had sexual intercourse.”
When Ayala opened his door again on April 3, he was the one who got picked up — by the cops. According to the report, the girl had told her therapist, and the police launched an investigation.
And as of press time, Ayala was still sitting in a Palm Beach County jail cell, charged with statutory rape. He hasn’t had any visitors.
FAU administrators and SG officials who know him have described his arrest as “shocking” and “disappointing.” But Ayala — who made an aborted run for student body president this semester — has had problems before, both legal and academic.
In September 2007, Ayala got into a bar fight with a Lynn University student. The police report of that incident said Ayala started the fight because the other guy was “dancing with ‘his’ girl.” Ayala “pushed him, head-butted him, and punched him with a right hook in the face,” which required the victim to get five stitches under his right eye. Ayala claimed self-defense.
“Chris [Ayala]? Really? Chris?” said Student Affairs Vice President Charles Brown, when he first heard of the older felony charge. “I thought I knew him. Seemed like a fine young man.”
Brown also described his experience working with Ayala.
“I worked with Chris and got to know him last year really good because
he was the SG appointment to the budget [task force],” said Brown, referring to the committee of mostly administrators formed to deal with the growing budget crisis at FAU. He added, “When he had issues, I would make sure his voice was heard because he was there for the students.”
Student Body President-elect Tiffany Weimar, who worked closely with Ayala while she was governor of the Boca campus, also commented on Ayala’s dedication when the news of his arrest broke.
“As far as his position, he’s done a great job; he really has. We had an event today [April 7] he’s been working really hard on, tirelessly, and he’s been really amazing,” said Weimar. “As far as his personal stuff, whether it’s bad decisions or whatever, I don’t know. It’s disappointing to me, and it’s upsetting because he’s a really great guy. We’ll see what happens, how it pans out.”
Ayala’s first court appearance is scheduled for 1:30 p.m. on May 4, the same day Weimar will be sworn in as student body president.
Editor in Chief Michele Boyet contributed to this report.
Case of the disappearing Facebook
On April 7, the day Ayala’s arrest became public knowledge, his Facebook profile underwent some dramatic changes — while Ayala himself was sitting in jail.
The most recent message up until that day was one from Ayala saying he was subleasing his apartment. But then, another message appeared around 5 p.m., posted from his account but — obviously — not by him.
“For those of you who have sent messages, called and im’d Chris [Ayala] about this WHOLE screwed up situation. I will be more than happy to explain everything to you tonight. Text me your number and I will call you back,” read a message posted through Ayala’s account.
The UP contacted the number left on the page but received no response, and by 10 p.m. the message had been deleted.
Ayala’s Facebook profile picture was also changed from one with him shirtless and with his arms around two scantily-clad girls to one of him in a suit and tie. The former photo was deleted, but many others of Ayala drinking and partying with unidentified women were left up.
By 11 p.m. of the same day, most information had been removed from his profile, although it was left public. The following morning, the profile had been entirely deleted.
Pikes not talking
Ayala’s fraternity, Pi Kappa Alpha — known colloquially as the Pikes — hasn’t made any statements about his arrest. Pike President Jamie Trusheim responded to an e-mail seeking comment with one unpunctuated word, in caps: “NO.” Further e-mails received no response.
FAU Greek Life Coordinator Ryan O’Rourke said some members had spoken to him, but the chapter leadership had not.
“Students have come to me asking for advice on an individual basis about how they should handle this personally, but the chapter has not,” said O’Rourke, who added that they have no authority over the Pikes. “But we’re playing phone tag with their national chapter.”
Eric Hren, the director of services for the national Pi Kappa Alpha organization, said they’ve been offering advice to the local Pikes but also can’t decide for them.
“We advised them to let local authorities handle the investigation. We advised them to follow Pi Kappa Alpha conduct and rules,” says Hren. “They most likely will make a statement after the investigation is concluded.”
He also added that it’s the sole responsibility of the local chapter to make a decision on whether to revoke Ayala’s membership.
All alone
As of press time, nobody had visited Ayala — nobody can, until he specifically says so. Palm Beach County jails require inmates to submit a list of people who are allowed to visit, and according to jail officials, Ayala hasn’t even submitted a list.
No one can call him, either, although he can call out. The UP sent him a letter on April 8 requesting visitation rights, with no response.
His parents may not even know he’s in jail.
“I’m pretty sure his mom lives in Costa Rica,” says Vice President of Student Affairs Charles Brown. “We were discussing it just a week ago. His mom went there for a vacation, loved it and moved there. I don’t know about his dad.”
Someone would have to pay at least 10 percent of Ayala’s $45,000 bail to get him out of jail until his court appearance on May 4.
Three felony charges
(Warning: Explicit language)
Ayala was charged with more than one count of statutory rape. After the first encounter, he had sex with the 13-year-old on two other occasions. He was charged for all three, and each carries a penalty of up to 15 years in prison, according to Florida law.
This means that if Ayala is found guilty on all charges, he could be in jail potentially until the age of 68.
March 11 was the first meeting. The second encounter was the very next day. Ayala text messaged her and she came over, finding the door left open for her.
According to the clinical but explicit police report, “Chris was sitting inside his room and was naked in his bed.” He then asked her to “perform a lap dance for him, which she did.” The report notes that “they had sexual intercourse after that and Chris pulled his penis out of her vagina and ejaculated in her mouth,” and that Chris did not wear a condom on this occasion.
The last time the two met was a week later, according to the report. Ayala texted her again and asked her to come over and “requested that she bring her cheerleading uniform.” She showed up and again gave him oral sex while wearing the outfit. Then Ayala “began to put lubricant on her rear and penetrated her anally. Chris did not wear a condom, but did not ejaculate.”
The report also details a recorded phone call in which Ayala told the young girl she had to have an abortion if she got pregnant “but that she might need her parent’s consent, indicating that he knew she was a minor.” He also told her to have sex with someone her own age and “tell her parents that the younger person got her pregnant, because he did not want to go to jail.”
Deciphering the legalese
Criminal law is complex; the terminology and rules are easy to mix up. Here’s a breakdown of several aspects of the state law Ayala was charged under, statute 800.04.
Statutory rape: Not rape in the sense of forced sex, but an umbrella legal term referring to several different sexual acts with someone under the age of consent. In Florida, the age of consent is 16, and harsher penalties are imposed for sex with someone under the age of 12.
Lewd or lascivious battery: This is the specific kind of statutory rape Ayala is accused of, a felony of the second degree. Straight from the statute, it is: “engaging in sexual activity with a person 12 years of age or older but less than 16 years of age; or encouraging, forcing, or enticing any person less than 16 years of age to engage in sadomasochistic abuse, sexual bestiality, prostitution, or any other act involving sexual activity.”
Prohibited defenses: This particular law says it doesn’t matter if the victim was a virgin or not, nor if the victim willingly had sex. It also doesn’t matter if the victim lied about her age or if Ayala sincerely believed her. None of these arguments can be used to lessen the legal blow.
Felony: A crime punishable by more than one year in prison, as opposed to the lesser crime type of misdemeanor. The degree of the felony suggests a sentence range, with second degree being “a term of imprisonment not exceeding 15 years.”
[To read more about Florida state statutes, go to www.flsenate.gov/statutes.]
To read the entire police report, visit owlwatch.wordpress.com/police-reports.
17 comments
I pray that both parties are on the emotional mend and that this is resolved soon so they may move on to whatever lies ahead.
What he did is terrible and he has to and will spend time in jail for sure... but I do want to remind you all, what would you do if you had a chance with a 16 year old girl that you liked? 16 might be underage, but you all remeber 16, you are almost a grown up... and that is what he thought she was... it's too sad to see this happen, because i really believed he had a great future ahead of him... I can only hope he gets over this the best way possible....
I really don't care whether you agree or disagree with me. If you read more closely in my post, you will notice that I never said that this gives anyone the right to disparage PKA nor did I disparage them myself. Ted Coppel, Bobby Bowden, and Jeremy Piven were not members of the Lambda Beta chapter of PKA, and they also did not recruit Chris Ayala and initiate him into their fraternity. (His current membership status is not the point) I also didn't say that they are directly responsible for his actions. Maybe you should read what I say a little more closely. However; the local PKA chapter did recruit him and initiate him while (possibly) educating him on their standards as an organization. As a member of their chapter (the local one) his actions most certainly affect their image in my eyes and to the majority of FAU students. (nobody cares if you agree or disagree with this fact) A school that hires and screens teachers are affected by their employees actions in much the same way. Now when a teacher sleeps with a student, it definitely affects the image of the school, just the same is Chris Ayala's actions are affecting PKA's image (logically and ethically so) Maybe if this is illogical than the rest of FAU and the outside community needs to take Dobsons whatever class so that we can have a more developed way of reasoning such as yourself. Also, you say that he is unaffiliated- how do you make this assumption? It seems that you are just saying claiming this in order to make your point without knowing if that is true or not. Some Pikes say that he is active, others disagree. I read that they say "once a pike always a pike". Oh, thats right. That's only when the brother has not admitted to molesting and sodomizing a thirteen year old. I wasn't aware of that addendum. Instead of just saying that it is illogical to say certain things, why don't you provide some kind of evidence to back up your point, oh logical ethical one. (as well as attacking the correct point) Your subjects are awaiting your brilliance.
he was the SG appointment to the budget [task force],” said [Dr.]Brown [VP for Student Affairs], referring to the committee of mostly administrators formed to deal with the growing budget crisis at FAU. He added, “When he had issues, I would make sure his voice was heard because he was there for the students.”That comment was completely pointless becauase everyone knows Dr. Brown doesn't care about the students. Student Affairs let Ayala work as SG Treasurer because he was an idiot with no idea what he was doing...oh and he was a sex offender.
Earlier 'Super Student' had commented that "Dr. Brown is full of shit! He doesn't care about the students." That comment was later removed and I just found it interesting.
If you've payed attention to OwlWatch Student Affairs have instructed everyone in Student Government to keep their mouths shut....I just find this whole thing interesting (hence the Archdiocese comment). Am I the only one asking questions here?!