Ex-student sentenced to up to 20 years for rape at WCU

A former West Chester University student has been sentenced to six to 20 years in prison for the rape of a student while she was unconscious.

Kyle Vo, 20, of Blue Bell, was convicted in April of assaulting and raping a student in her dorm room after a night of drinking in January 2015 at the start of the spring semester. She had previously told Vo, a student at the time of the incident, and others that she was a virgin and hoped to wait to have sex, according to testimony.

Vo, who had pleaded not guilty, was sentenced Monday by Chester County Court Judge Phyllis Streitel. At the proceeding, both Vo and the victim gave statements, as did some of their family members.

"We disagree with the decision of the jury in this case, but we respect the sentence," Martin Mullaney, Vo's attorney, said Wednesday.

Vo maintains that the sex was consensual, Mullaney said. He plans to appeal the verdict.

"He maintains his innocence," the lawyer said. "His defense is that she absolutely gave consent."

Assistant District Attorney Andrea Cardamone said the sentence was appropriate.

Vo "took something from [the victim] that she can never get back," Cardamone wrote in her sentencing memo.

"He waited until she could barely move or speak," it read. "He waited until she could no longer react to what was being done to her, until she could no longer protect herself."

Vo had gone through juvenile sex-offender treatment after being caught as a minor taking upskirt photos of girls and stealing a neighbor's underwear, according to the District Attorney's Office.

After the rape, the girl reported it to the university and the case was turned over to police.

It took "tremendous courage to go through the whole process, which is not easy on the victim," Cardamone said.

Vo has been expelled from the school.

jmcdaniel@philly.com 610-313-8205 @McDanielJustine