Two men from Queens, New York, are facing federal charges after a young woman died and another student was seriously injured following an alleged fentanyl poisoning in a campus dormitory. Moises Freire, 19, and Brian Peralta, 18, were named in a recently unsealed indictment, and both pleaded not guilty on Wednesday to federal charges of conspiracy to distribute a controlled substance resulting in death. Freire faces an additional charge of distributing a controlled substance with the intent to commit rape.
According to reports, the men supplied the drug to Annabel Richter, 20, who had moved from Brazil to the United States to study at Manhattan's Fashion Institute of Technology. The New York Post reported that the men allegedly told her the substance was simply "cocaine." Richter was found unresponsive with another female victim in a dorm room. The second victim sustained "serious bodily injury" and regained consciousness after receiving life-saving care in the hospital.
The federal indictment alleges that Freire raped the victim and "waited approximately 45 minutes to contact campus security" about the women being unconscious. It also alleges that he texted photos of one unconscious victim, who was "naked below the waist," to his friends. In a statement, FIT President Jason Schupbach thanked the school's Public Safety and Residential Life teams for their immediate response in March, as well as the Department of Justice and the NYPD for their continued work on the case.
Retired NYPD inspector and Fox News contributor Paul Mauro, who commented on the case, questioned why it had received limited media attention. He said the case and other campus crime stories deserved more scrutiny as the country moves into an election season. Mauro argued that drug suppliers are targeting students, saying, "Your kids are the target," and urged parents to speak with their children about the dangers before they leave for college.
Separately, Pennsylvania Attorney General Dave Sunday announced charges against 14 men, including current and former students, following an investigation into an alleged cocaine trafficking organized crime ring. Investigators said the network operated out of off-campus fraternity houses, including Sigma Chi and Delta Upsilon. According to a criminal complaint, fraternity pledges were forced to cut, package and bag large quantities of cocaine for the operation, and the drugs were distributed widely among Penn State students on the University Park campus. Authorities identified former student Agostino Abbatiello, 24, as the primary ringleader.
Penn State said in a statement that while illicit narcotics are a global problem, the allegations of drug trafficking so close to its University Park campus are "very concerning," and noted prevention messaging sent to students. Mauro said the drugs were supplied through networks reaching from Philadelphia and New York City, and that foreign producers and cartels play a role in the supply chain. Campus drug deaths have also occurred at the University of Mississippi, where two students, Aidan Hamilton, 18, and Robert Strang, 20, were found dead of suspected overdoses in September, and investigators recovered kratom-related products at both scenes.