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UF student charged with sexual battery is ‘high-achieving’ leader, released without bail, court records state

The State Attorney’s office recommended $300,000 bail, but a judge released the 21-year-old resident assistant on his own recognizance.
 
A screen grab of Ian Milaski's most recent Facebook profile picture and his jail mugshot.
A screen grab of Ian Milaski's most recent Facebook profile picture and his jail mugshot. [ Facebook/Alachua County Jail ]
Published Sept. 16, 2019|Updated Sept. 16, 2019

The State Attorney’s Office in Gainesville Friday announced it was moving forward with charges against a University of Florida resident assistant accused of sexual battery and recommended setting bail at $300,000.

The week before, however, Alachua County Circuit Court Judge Mark Moseley released the 21-year-old student with no bail after attorneys said he was a “high-achieving” student and leader on campus.

The student, Ian Milaski, was arrested on Aug. 28 after a woman he knows told police he assaulted her a few nights earlier.

On social media, users have already to begun comparing Milaski to Brock Turner, a Stanford student who was convicted on three counts of sexual assault in 2015 for trying to have sex with an unconscious woman and fellow student.

It also comes amid controversy over new allegations of sexual misconduct against Supreme Court Justice Bret Kavanaugh during his college years.

“Ian Milaski is 2019′s version of Brock Turner,” a twitter user wrote. “All of these boys then grow up to become Brett Kavanaughs and Clarence Thomases.”

According to court documents, the woman told police Milaski contacted her just before 2 a.m. on Aug. 25 and asked for help because he was drunk. The woman gave Milaski water and helped him to his room in UF’s Weaver Hall.

Then, she said, the RA leader, a figure whose duty is to help foster a safe living space for students, turned predator.

The woman said Milaski tried to make out with her. When she shouted no and tried to leave, he grabbed her by the wrist and repeatedly told her he wanted to sleep with her. She pleaded with him to stop, but he refused, continuing to say, “I want you to sleep me with me” and “sleep with me,” according to his arrest report.

The woman said she was able to put some distance between them and make her way to the door. But as she got close, he grabbed her, picked her up and put her on his bed. Then he got on top of her and tried to “digitally penetrate” her as she cried out for him to stop, according to the report.

She was able to free herself and run from the room, running into a classmate on the way whom she asked to stay with her and her roommate because she felt scared.

Around 4 a.m., the woman said she was in bed and heard her door open and looked to see a shadowy figure in the door. Milaski, she said, had returned. He laid down in the bed next to her and refused to leave. The man she ran into in the hall woke up and was eventually able to get MIlaski to leave, the report said.

University of Florida Police said Milaski later admitted to grabbing the woman and trying to get her to sleep with him.

Milaski was booked into jail Aug. 28 and released Sept. 5 on his own recognizance after bail was initially set at $125,000, court records show. He initially filed for indigent status and requested a public defender on Aug. 30, but hired lawyer Ronald Kozlowski the same day.

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Kozlowski filed an emergency order to reduce bond that same day, as well. Kozlowski asked for relief, saying posting bail that high was beyond the “modest means” of Milaski’s retired father and school board employee mother. He also said Milaski needed to help his parents prepare their Cape Coral home for the then-approaching Hurricane Dorian.

According to the request, Milaski is a “high-achieving student” in charge of 40 other RAs and a community service leader who needed to be released to complete school work.

On Sept. 4, Mosely granted the order, releasing Milaski without bail and requiring him to wear a GPS monitor the next day.

Police initially charged Milaski with simple battery, a misdemeanor, and false imprisonment, a felony.

After reviewing the case, the Alachua County State Attorney’s Office filed charges of kidnapping, burglary with assault or battery and attempted sexual battery.

He’s currently allowed to continue his coursework but cannot otherwise be on campus, according to a court order.