ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. – A University of Central Florida student accused of raping a woman at an off-campus party will be allowed to keep his passport, a judge said on Monday.
During the hearing, the state said that Jack Smith, 26, is a flight risk because of his dual citizenship in the United Kingdom.
"He should in fact have to surrender these passports during dependency of this case to ensure that he is available and subject to the jurisdiction of this court," the prosecutor said.
The defense argued that Smith has ties to Central Florida and shouldn't be considered a risk to flee the country.
"He has local family here. He has no reason to flee jurisdiction of the court. He has a very strong defense in this case, according to the probable cause affidavit," Smith's attorney said.
The judge denied the state's motion for Smith to surrender his passport, but he was ordered to remain in Florida for the duration of the trial.
According to an affidavit, a woman told deputies she woke up to David Kirk, 20, and Smith, both UCF students, raping her at the off-campus party on April 20. The victim said she blacked out from drinking vodka.
Deputies said the party was held at a nearby house where some members of Alpha Tau Omega live, but it's not the fraternity’s official house.
The ATO CEO told News 6 the party was not an ATO-sanctioned party. He said Kirk was expelled from ATO’s chapter at UCF back in January, but won’t say why. He said Smith was never a member.
At Monday's hearing, the defense said Smith previously made plans to travel to London on June 22. Whether or not Smith will be able to travel out of the country will be decided at a later hearing.