Judge: Former University of Alabama Student Charged with Rape Traveled to NYC, Threatened Victim

A former University of Alabama student charged with multiple sex crimes including rape of another student - which was captured in photos and videos reportedly taken by the suspect - will remain in jail without bond.

Gambill Colvard Gentry, a 23 -year-old from Davidson, N.C., is charged with first-degree rape, first-degree sodomy, and four counts of first-degree voyeurism. Two charges are Class A felonies, and the other four are Class C felonies.

Gentry has been banned from the campus, authorities said. The victim is Gentry's acquaintance and a current UA student.

Gentry, who surrendered when he learned there were warrants against him, made his first court appearance Tuesday. He waived his right to a preliminary hearing so that the charges would be forwarded to a grand jury for indictment consideration.

A Tuscaloosa Violent Crimes Unit investigator testified for the prosecution at the hearing. The defense called as a witness a Birmingham therapist who works with sexual addicts and offenders.

Attorneys for Gentry – Tommy Spina, Brett Bloomston, and Ben Preston – were seeking to have bond set for Gentry, saying he is not a flight risk and is willing to be electronically monitored.

Tuscaloosa County District Judge Joanne Jannik, however, denied Gentry’s bond request.

Jannik, in her order issued later Tuesday, said that under the facts of this particular case, there is no way to “reasonably assure the victim in this case will be safe from the defendant.”

The order noted that Gentry traveled to New York to visit the victim after being asked by the victim not to do so.

Testimony also showed, the judge said, that he has harassed the victim and made threats to the victim.

“Further,’’ Jannik wrote, “there was testimony that there was a prior incident between the defendant and victim that resulted in a police report being filed by the victim.”

The judge also said testimony presented in the hearing regarding Gentry’s “pattern of behavior” indicated that his being at large could pose a “real and present” danger.

The investigation began earlier this month when the victim told authorities she met Gentry at a bar, woke up the next morning with no memory of the night before, and suspected that she had been assaulted, said Tuscaloosa Violent Crimes Unit Capt. Jack Kennedy.

On July 13, according to charging documents, investigators carried out search warrants on Gentry’s cell phone.

“Investigators were able to obtain photo and video evidence that clearly showed that the victim had been sexually assaulted while unconscious,’’ Kennedy said.

Depositions in the cases state that they found photos of the victim’s breasts and genital area while she appeared to be unconscious.

One of them had a caption that read, “Nice vagina. Happy Birthday, slut.”

There were also images of Gentry performing oral sex on the victim as she was clearly “incapable of consent,’’ the documents state.

One of the images contained a caption that read “easy rape.”

Gentry has been in custody since July 25.

Kennedy said evidence recovered during the investigation into Gentry leads investigators to believe that there may be other victims unknown to law enforcement.