A second Wichita State University student was arrested on a rape charge after two alleged sexual attacks in weeks, with campus police still investigating both Kansas cases.
Fox News Digital reported that James Vandenberg, a student at Wichita State University, was arrested Saturday on a rape charge at a campus dorm hall by university police.
He was released from jail Sunday after posting a $100,000 surety bond. The arrest marks the second alleged sexual attack tied to the Wichita, Kansas, campus in one month, and campus police are handling the case.
Details about what led to the charge were not available, a Sedgwick County Sheriff’s Office spokesman told the outlet. Wichita State University campus police are investigating.
Aaron Christian, 18, was arrested Oct. 12 on charges of aggravated battery and rape. Wichita State University Police Department is handling that investigation as well.
Christian was released the next day after securing the same $100,000 surety bond. Captions tied to the reporting place both student arrests in separate sexual assault cases in October 2026.
Vandenberg’s booking was described as a rape or sexual assault charge stemming from an alleged incident on campus. Christian’s case was also described in related caption language as involving suspicion of aggravated domestic battery and sexual assault after an alleged campus incident. Precise charging titles beyond those descriptions were not laid out in full court paperwork in the available reporting.
Fox News Digital reached out to the university, Vandenberg, and Christian for comment. No further responses from the two men were detailed.
After Christian’s arrest, a university spokesperson addressed the broader issue of sexual assault reports.
"The university takes all reports of sexual assault seriously. Sexual violence has no place in any campus community, and we are committed to following all applicable laws, reporting, investigative and student-support processes,"
the spokesperson said. The school’s statement framed the response as following reporting, investigative, and student-support processes required by law.
That pledge comes as campus police continue work on both October cases. No injury details, motive claims, or full narrative of either alleged attack were released in the public account.
Campus police records show additional reported incidents earlier in the year. On Feb. 18, a sexual battery allegation was logged at Shocker Studios on campus, the school of digital arts. A 20-year-old man was arrested in connection with that matter.
On Feb. 28, a reported allegation of sexual assault was recorded at The Flats, an apartment complex on campus. That Feb. 28 report was described as the last reported allegation before the two October alleged sexual assaults. Outcomes or current status of the February matters were not provided.
Taken together, the public timeline runs from the February reports at Shocker Studios and The Flats to Christian’s Oct. 12 arrest and release, then to Vandenberg’s Saturday dorm arrest and Sunday release on bond. In each of the October student cases, the bond amount matched at $100,000 surety.
University police made the dorm arrest of Vandenberg. The Sedgwick County Sheriff’s Office spokesman confirmed the Saturday arrest location, the Sunday release, the bond, and the fact that more detail on the basis for the charge was not available at the time.
Both active October cases sit with Wichita State University campus police. No statutes, case numbers, or charging instruments were reproduced in full in the reporting. Jail photos credited to Sedgwick County Jail accompanied the coverage.
For parents, students, and taxpayers who fund public campuses, the sequence is straightforward: multiple alleged sexual attacks, repeated arrests, high bonds, quick releases, and unfinished investigations. Officials can issue process statements. They still owe a clear accounting of what happened, who is safe, and what changes when the same category of crime returns to the same grounds within weeks.
Campus safety is not a slogan. It is the minimum adults should expect when they send their kids to school.
