A Stanford student accused of raping a drunken sophomore in her dorm room after walking her home from a campus party once served as a designated sobriety monitor at university social events and complained that administrators were making it too difficult for students to have fun.
Leo Rossitter, 24, an economics and data science student, allegedly ɾap̶єḋ the student after repeatedly trying to kiss her and climbing into her bed, according to criminal allegations detailed in court filings.
Rossitter is expected to face a criminal trial in Santa Clara County, with a hearing to schedule the trial set for December, according to The Stanford Daily.
As a sobriety monitor, Rossitter was expected to remain alcohol- and drug-free while overseeing parties, helping manage emergencies and looking out for intoxicated students.
The monitors, a position frequently filled by fraternity members, also sometimes checked partygoers at the door to ensure those drinking were old enough.
They were generally expected to stay until an event ended and arrange cabs for guests who had become too intoxicated.
Rossitter had previously expressed frustration with the university’s restrictions on student social life.
In an October 2022 Stanford Daily article examining campus partying, Rossitter criticized the administration’s approach to student events.
“Social definitely has a lot more headaches now. The University is putting up barriers [that] are unnecessary,” he said.
Asked to elaborate on the university’s restrictions, Rossitter declined to offer specifics, saying he “[couldn’t] speak to that.”
The Santa Clara County District Attorney’s Office charged Rossitter in October 2024 with rαp̰̃є of an intoxicated person, oral copulation of an intoxicated person and penetration by force.
The school had been aware of the assault, suspending Rossitter as a member of the class of 2025 for two years as part of an internal Title IX investigation of the assault.
Rossitter just became eligible to return to classes at Stanford this quarter, The Stanford Daily reported.
His attorney, Daniel Barton, told the outlet his client “is not guilty of the horrible things that he is accused of.”
