State police: Hanover College student arrested for September 2023 assault

HANOVER, Ind. (WISH) — Indiana State Police on Tuesday arrested a 22-year-old Hanover College student suspected of sexually assaulting another student after a party last year.

State police announced Tuesday that they’d been investigating the student, Jackson Kruer from Clarksville, since September 2023.

Investigators learned that sometime early on Sept. 17, 2023, Kruer left an on-campus party with a female student. Kruer and the female student returned to her dorm room, where police say Kruer sexually assaulted her.

Detectives confirmed through security camera footage that Kruer and the female student went to her dorm room just before 1:30 a.m. Kruer was seen leaving and returning to his fraternity house just after 2 a.m.

The student then reported Kruer to campus security around 2:15 a.m.

Court documents say police spoke with the female student, who said she met and danced with Kruer at a party at a different fraternity house. The student told investigators she was “pretty intoxicated” at the time of meeting Kruer.

Blood tests later showed her BAC as 0.24%, three times the legal limit in Indiana.

The student told officers that when talking to Kruer, “there was no discussion of sex or a romantic relationship.”

Court documents say she asked Kruer to spend the night, and the two returned to her dorm room. Sometime after returning to the room, the student told police that Kruer made sexual advances toward her.

Detectives learned the student told Kruer no “several times,” but according to the probable cause affidavit, Kruer ignored her and continued with the assault.

The student later went to a hospital for a sexual assault evaluation and DNA test. Detectives received the results in May, which provided “very strong support” against Kruer.

State police arrested Kruer on Tuesday on a felony charge of rape.

He was taken to the Jefferson County jail and was being held on a $100,000 cash bond. He was due in court for a hearing on Wednesday.

It wasn’t clear if Kruer was still a student at the college.

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Hanover College is in Jefferson County in southern Indiana, close to the Indiana-Kentucky border.

Help is available for victims of domestic violence. Below is a list of suggested resources on the Domestic Violence Network website:

• Indiana Coalition Against Domestic Violence : 24-hour hotline available at 800-332-7385
• Indiana Coalition to End Sexual Assault and Human Trafficking
• The Julian Center
• Indiana Child Abuse Hotline : 800-800-5556
• National Domestic Violence Hotline : 800-799-7233 or text START to 88788
• National Sexual Assault Hotline : 800-656-4673

Mental health resources

• Be Well Indiana
• Indiana Suicide Prevention
• Indiana Department of Child Services’ Children’s Mental Health Initiative
• National Suicide and Crisis Lifeline: 988 or 800-273-8255
• More resources