MOBILE, Ala. — The man accused of rape on the Spring Hill College campus was in court Thursday and was indicted by a grand jury on three additional charges.
The grand jury indicted Vassil Kokali on first-degree rape of an incapacitated person, first-degree sodomy of an incapacitated person and sexual misconduct. Those alternative counts were added to the three he already faced: first-degree rape, first-degree sodomy and burglary.
The case stems from a sexual assault reported on the Spring Hill College campus on March 13. During Thursday’s hearing, Kokali was arraigned on the new charges. His attorney, Megan Doggett, pleaded not guilty on his behalf and said the indictment was not surprising.
‘There are two competing theories at this point whether she was physically or mentally incapacitated versus forcible compulsion, but obviously we’ll flush all that out at trial, and I’m looking forward to that,’ Doggett said outside the courtroom.
The judge denied the defense’s motion to let Kokali leave the state for work and also denied a motion to let him visit family in New Jersey for Christmas. The defense requested a speedy trial; the trial is set for April 11, 2022. Kokali remains free on bond.
‘We want to get this thing in front of a jury as soon as possible so he can be vindicated,’ Doggett said, describing the time since his arrest as a period of limbo.
June 2022: Trial gets underway, accuser takes the stand
Update (June 10, 2022): The case went to trial in Mobile County this week, more than a year after the reported assault. Audrey Cox, the alleged victim, who has previously spoken publicly about the allegations, spent two days on the stand as the state’s first witness, testifying Thursday, June 9, and wrapping up under cross-examination Friday, June 10.
Cox testified about the night in March 2021 when she says Kokali sexually assaulted her inside her New Hall dorm room at Spring Hill College. She told the court she did not know Kokali personally and had only seen him that night at Saddle Up Saloon in downtown Mobile, where she had been out drinking with friends.
Under questioning, Cox said she did not invite Kokali back to her dorm, noting the pair returned to campus separately and that he did not live in her residence hall.
Kokali’s defense attorneys presented a different account, arguing Cox did invite him back after the two were seen kissing on the dance floor. During cross-examination they also raised her prescription drug use, saying she had taken a combination of pills along with marijuana and a large amount of alcohol that night. The defense further pointed to Cox’s civil lawsuit against the college and against Kokali, arguing her motive is financial.
Friday marked day four of the trial. Alongside Cox’s testimony, the state called several other witnesses, including two students, a professor, and Cox’s roommate. The professor testified that Cox texted him after the night in question saying she believed she had been raped, and that he encouraged her to have a forensic exam performed and report the incident to Spring Hill police.
Prosecutors said they expect to finish presenting their witnesses Monday, June 13, after which the defense will present its case. The trial was expected to conclude as early as the following Tuesday.