Editor's note: The story was revised to further protect the identities of the victims of sexual assault.
Two men with ties to the University of Florida and who have been recent subjects of separate sexual assault investigations were arrested after Gainesville Police Department officers determined there was probable cause to recommend charges.
Oscar Vargas, a 19-year-old Santa Fe College student and past social events chair of the UF fencing club, was arrested Tuesday after admitting to police that he sexually assaulted an acquaintance over the summer.
According to Vargas’ criminal complaint, on June 17 he invited a female friend to his home where the two watched television over drinks.
The woman told police that after Vargas made a number of sexually suggestive remarks, she told him, in no uncertain terms, she wasn’t interested in engaging in a sexual relationship with him.
As the night wore on, the woman told police Vargas eventually placed her phone out of arm’s reach so she wouldn’t text while intoxicated. After consuming enough alcohol to feel unsteady on her feet, light-headed and disoriented, Vargas escorted her to his bedroom. She blacked out on his bed a short time later.
Fading in and out of consciousness through the night, the woman recounted to police waking up to find Vargas grabbing her by the hair and forcing her to perform oral sex. She recalled trying to push him away.
While texting each other months later, Vargas told the woman she had performed oral sex that night, but she had repeatedly mistaken him for her boyfriend. Despite her confusion, Vargas said he allowed her to continue.
During an interview at GPD headquarters Tuesday, Vargas admitted that, because the woman was incapacitated to the point where she couldn’t distinguish him from her boyfriend, the sex was not consensual. After expressing remorse and telling the officer that he knew what he’d done was wrong, he was arrested for sexual assault.
Vargas was released from the Alachua County Jail on a $100,000 bond and plans to plead not guilty, according to Sara Tat, his public defender.
Michael Nanosky Jr., 20, of Boca Raton was arrested in early July after police say he sexually assaulted a fellow UF student this spring. According to his LinkedIn profile, he began his position as a philanthropy chairperson for UF’s Theta Chi Fraternity a month later. On Dec. 3, he announced on social media he’d been reappointed to the role for the spring semester.
The woman told police that before leaving a March 19 party at a downtown Gainesville bar, Nanosky pressured her to have another drink. She reported that prior to the drink at the bar, she’d only consumed two White Claw beverages.
After accepting the drink from Nanosky, she noted the odd taste of the red-colored shot and blacked out until regaining consciousness while he was assaulting her, according to the complaint.
She blacked out again, and her next recollection was waking up in her dorm room at 4 a.m.
Sore and topless with a stomach ache and a vague memory of Nanosky taking her home, she told police she was later able to piece together what happened. She had a panic attack when she realized she had been a victim of sexual assault, she told police, noting it felt like a nightmare.
Her friends, witnesses in the complaint, provided additional details from the night.
One friend told police the woman could barely hold a conversation or walk straight after the drinks and described her change in behavior as like a switch being flipped. After realizing the woman and Nanosky had left the bar, the friend was able to place the woman’s phone near Nanosky’s apartment using Snapchat’s location feature.
Another friend at the party recounted that, after Nanosky and the woman departed the bar, the woman failed to answer repeated phone calls. The friend told police that it was unusual for the woman to not answer her phone. The friend reported that the woman had said she wasn’t interested in pursuing a sexual relationship with Nanosky.
A third person in attendance that night described a subsequent phone call with Nanosky where he inquired about any comments the woman made about the previous night. According to that person, Nanosky said that the two had sex.
The woman reported the rape to police on June 24, and a bench warrant was issued. Nanosky was arrested a week later by Palm Beach Sheriff’s deputies. He was released the same day after posting a $250,000 bond set by the judge. The state attorney’s office previously recommended a $150,000 bond.
Since Nanosky’s arrest in July, movement in the case appears to have stalled. While he has not yet been formally charged by the state attorney’s office with a crime, a prosecutor has been assigned to the case.
Nanoksy’s lawyer, Richard Buzan of Musca Law, declined to comment on the case.