An RWU student accused of assaulting two women and making harassing phone calls to one of them was arrested by Bristol Police Sept. 23 in the engineering building on a warrant for three misdemeanor charges. 

Christopher P. Fortmuller, 21, a junior engineering major from Morristown, New Jersey, faces charges of domestic assault, simple assault and domestic cyberstalking. RWU Public Safety accompanied Bristol Police to the engineering building around 9:30 a.m. on Monday where Fortmuller was arrested without incident. 

He was taken to the Bristol police station for processing and later brought to the Sixth District Court in Providence, where he pleaded innocent to all three charges at his arraignment before Judge Pamela Pfeiffer. The judge released him on $5,000 personal recognizance. He is scheduled to appear in court again on Oct. 11.

According to a Bristol Police report, two women came into the station at 11:10 p.m. on Sept. 22 and reported the alleged assaults. One of the women said she recently broke up with Fortmuller.

The two women claimed Fortmuller allegedly assaulted them outside one of the Bayside residence halls on the night of Friday, Sept. 20. One woman claimed Fortmuller kicked her ankles, while the other woman claimed he pushed her onto the ground and kicked her face. The ex-girlfriend also claimed Fortmuller called her 20 times between Sept. 17, when she asked him to have no contact with her, and Sept. 20, according to police.

Police took photos of both women, showing bruised ankles on one of them while the other had bruising and swelling under her right eye. Police also obtained surveillance video from outside the Bayside building. Details of the video were redacted from the police report released to The Hawks’ Herald.

According to the police report, he was advised by Public Safety and Bristol Police to not return to RWU property until further notice.

According to the RWU Athletics website, Fortmuller is a member of the cross country and track teams. Both Director of Athletics Kiki Jacobs and Cross Country Coach Sean Livingston had no comment regarding the incident.

Fortmuller did not respond to a request for comment.

Vice President of Student Life John King said Bristol Police have full jurisdiction over campus property. He said the police determined an arrest was necessary during that specific time frame.

“The situation will be monitored by appropriate Student Life offices at the university and questions regarding the arrest should be directed to BPD,” King said.

 

Updated again on 9/30: According to John King, Fortmuller received written notice from Student Life that he is not allowed to enter any university residence areas indefinitely.

This story has been updated. A previous version said incorrectly that RWU Public Safety issued a no trespass order against Fortmuller. This statement was not confirmed. Any further updates will be recorded here.