Del State Band Director Charged with Rape

The director of the Delaware State University band has been charged with raping a student, state police said Monday.

Miguel A. Bonds, 31, was arrested Sunday night and charged with second-degree rape, two counts of third-degree unlawful sexual contact, and providing alcohol to an underage person.

Authorities said a 20-year-old student told investigators that after the school's football game Saturday afternoon, he mentioned to Bonds that he was planning on pledging a fraternity next year, and that Bonds offered to "teach him what he needs to know about pledging."

He said he followed Bonds to his apartment, where they watched a movie, according to authorities. The student said that Bonds gave him a drink made with vodka and that he immediately felt dizzy.

As he drifted in and out of consciousness, Bonds began performing oral sex on the student and touched him inappropriately, police said.

The student awoke Sunday morning naked on the floor and nauseous, police said. After leaving the apartment, he received a phone call from Bonds, who asked whether he remembered anything, police said.

University spokesman Carlos Holmes said Bonds has been placed on paid administrative leave pending resolution of the charges. Bonds, who previously worked at Stillman College in Alabama, was hired by DSU last spring and began working for the school this summer, Holmes said.

"We did a background check on him; we didn't find anything on him," said Holmes, adding that DSU police conducted another background check after the rape allegations surfaced.

Bonds was being held at the Delaware Correctional Center in lieu of $12,100 bond. It was unclear whether he had retained an attorney; the jail could not provide any details.

About 90 students are involved in the band, known as "The Approaching Storm." The public university, originally founded in 1891 as the State College for Colored Students, has about 3,700 students.