UCLA

Ex-UCLA Water Polo Player Accused of Rape Takes Plea Deal, Rape Charges Dropped: DA

A former UCLA water polo player accused of raping another student in a campus dormitory pleaded no contest Thursday to assault and making criminal threats, officials said.

Hakop Jack Kaplanyan, 20, of Glendale, was sentenced to six months in jail, five years probation and one year sexual counseling, according to the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office.

All of the original charges against him -- including charges of forcible rape, false imprisonment and possession of child pornography -- were dismissed as part of the plea agreement.

Kaplanyan pleaded not guilty to eight counts of rape and other charges in March 2014.

A judge also issued a protective order, requiring Kaplanyan to stay away from three women who he allegedly attacked between October 2012 and April 2013. The two charges to which Kaplanyan pleaded Thursday pertained to one victim.

Kaplanyan was arrested in April 2013, just after a female student filed a report with campus police saying he had raped her in a campus residence hall.

An attorney representing Kaplanyan, then a freshman polo player, claimed at the time that his client had consensual sex with the woman. He was eventually released on bail and suspended from the university. He was arrested again and indicted in early 2014.

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Jason Kandel contributed to this report.

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