By Claire Hamlet
A Washington and Lee University student faces a misdemeanor stalking charge filed against him by another student whom he had dated.
A hearing is set for March 15 in Rockbridge County District Court.
On Feb. 12, the young woman filed a criminal complaint that alleged that Brandon Konlian, a senior accounting and finance major, emailed her on Jan. 28, in violation of a “no-contact order” issued by W&L in November.
“The content of the messages are threatening, emotionally manipulative and alarming,” she wrote. “I do not know what he’s capable of, and I and my family are terrified.”
The Rockbridge Report is not identifying her by name because the allegations involve the threat of possible violence.
Larissa Sneathern, an attorney in Charlottesville who is representing the young woman, declined to comment.
In her handwritten criminal complaint, the young woman said she and Konlian broke up in August, but he continued to reach out to her with “escalatory methods.”
Konlian allegedly sent several text messages and emails to her personal email address and her school email.
The young woman said he also asked a “third party” to deliver to her a nine-page letter that he’d written.
“Brandon strongly maintains his innocence against these false allegations and looks forward to clearing his good name in court,” Neill Wente, Konlian’s attorney in Lexington, said in a statement. “It is important to note that there is no history of violence or threats between the parties.”
The young woman filed the complaint herself, as a “citizen warrant,” Wente said. “This is not a matter that was investigated by the police, and the charge was not brought by law enforcement.”
Rockbridge County Sheriff’s Office Investigator Ryan McCullough said he was in the courthouse when the young woman filed the complaint. He declined to comment on the matter because it is ongoing.
In November, the young woman obtained a no-contact order from the university’s Title IX office, according to her criminal complaint.
Wente said in his statement that Konlian sent the Jan. 28 email after the young woman had attended an event hosted by his fraternity.
The young woman said that she obtained a preliminary protective order on Feb. 2 because she “feared for her safety,” according to the court filing.
“The charge in this case represents a clear exaggeration,” Wente wrote, “and unfortunate escalation in a matter that should otherwise have been resolved in a private manner and at the university level.”
Lauren Kozak, W&L’s Title IX coordinator, declined to comment.