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3 indicted on charges of raping URI student

03:02 PM EDT on Thursday, May 28, 2009

By Gregory Smith

Journal Staff Writer

Two men and a woman each have been indicted on a charge of raping a University of Rhode Island student on campus last September. The suspects were also URI students at the time.

Atty. Gen. Patrick C. Lynch announced Wednesday that the Washington County Grand Jury handed up a secret indictment listing a charge of first-degree sexual assault occurring on Sept. 14 against Yaw Peprah, 20, of 1638 Lonsdale Ave., Lincoln, R.I.; Estifanos Gizaw, 19, of Houston, Texas; and Marina Melillo, 18, of North Bellmore, N.Y.

Peprah and Gizaw are males and Melillo, female, according to Michael J. Healey, spokesman for Lynch.

The trio, who are not in custody, are scheduled to be arraigned Monday, June 1, in Washington County Superior Court.

The investigation was conducted by the URI police, who submitted the case to the attorney general's office in the fall. Healey said the case has taken a normal course through a process of evaluation and review.

Healey said two of the three suspects remain students at URI, although he does not know which ones. The alleged victim is also still a URI student.

The alleged crimes are said to have occurred on the main campus of URI in the village of Kingston in South Kingstown. No other details were available Wednesday.

Spokesmen for the URI police have not returned telephone calls seeking more information about the charges.

Correction: A previous version of this story gave the wrong date of the alleged incident.

gsmith@projo.com

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