Jesse Matthew accused of 2003 campus sexual assault
NEWPORT NEWS, Va. — Jesse Leroy Matthew Jr., the man charged with abducting University of Virginia student Hannah Graham, was accused of an on-campus sexual assault at Christopher Newport University in 2003, the school confirmed Wednesday.
A few days later, Matthew, a defensive lineman, was no longer on the football team, according to the university. It is not known whether Matthew left the team or was dismissed by the school.
Matthew lived in Newport News and attended Christopher Newport University in 2003, from January through Oct. 15.
Late Wednesday, the university released a statement noting that Matthew was named in a police file involving a Sept. 7, 2003, sexual assault on the Newport News campus.
He was a member of CNU's football team from Aug. 14 to Sept. 12, 2003, where he was a 250-pound defensive lineman, according to the team's media guide. At the time, he didn't have facial hair or dreadlocks that recent pictures of him show. He left the school after the police file was opened, but was never charged with a crime.
"Students don't usually leave in the second month of the semester or leave the football team within a month," said the statement, emailed to the news media by CNU spokeswoman Lori Jacobs. "However, federal student record privacy laws (FERPA) limit the information we can provide. The University is fully cooperating with law-enforcement agencies."
Matthew had transferred to CNU after three years at Liberty University, where he also was on the football team.
When he was at Liberty, he was accused of raping a student on campus. That charge was dropped when the person declined to move forward with prosecution, Lynchburg Commonwealth's Attorney Michael Doucette said last week.
Charlottesville Police have said they believe Matthew was the last person seen with 18-year-old Hannah Graham of Alexandria, Va., who disappeared early the morning of Sept. 13.
Matthew became a suspect in the case after police searched his car and apartment. He was arrested in Texas Sept. 24 and returned to Virginia to face charges.
Investigators across Virginia are pouring over records to determine whether Matthew is connected to other cases of missing or murdered young women.
Late Tuesday afternoon, the Newport News Police Department confirmed that they are re-examining two cold cases involving girls who went missing in 2003. Sophia Rivera was last seen on Sept. 7, 2003, and Autumn Day was last seen on July 24, 2003.
State Police confirm Matthew is forensically linked to the case of Morgan Harrington, a Virginia Tech student who was found dead after attending a concert at the University of Virginia in 2009.
As police continue to sift through cold cases, a Virginia Beach father is praying for new leads in his own unsolved case. Bill Carson's 18-year-old daughter Shellie Carson was brutally murdered in the Kings Grant neighborhood in 2005. Carson has been working tirelessly for almost a decade to find justice for his daughter. After learning of the latest developments in the Jesse Matthew case, he contacted the Virginia Beach Cold Case Homicide Unit.
"All these things sort of made me think that maybe my daughter's death in 2005 was somehow linked to this whole business, and perhaps Matthew's recent arrest. Maybe somebody who knew the Matthew guy in the area will say, 'Oh, I remember seeing that guy at the 7-11, or on a certain date' — some place close to the time of Shellie's death," he said.
Virginia Beach Police said the Carson case remains open, but would not say whether investigators are looking into a possible connection to Matthew.
A $40,000 reward for information that leads to an arrest is still offered in the Shellie Carson case at justiceforshellie.com.
Contributing: The Associated Press