Suspect in Villanova University rape case heads to Delco court on all charges

An Uber driver from Trappe Borough has had all charges held against him in connection with alleged rape of a woman at Villanova University in Delaware County in September.

Mirvan Dinler, 26, of the 200 block of Washington Court, was charged Sept. 13 by Delaware County and Radnor detectives with rape, rape of a substantially impaired person, involuntary deviate sexual intercourse, involuntary deviate sexual intercourse of a substantially impaired person, sexual assault, and indecent assault without consent, per court documents.

Dinler was also charged with misdemeanor counts of indecent assault on a person who is substantially impaired, but Assistant District Attorney Danielle Gallaher withdrew the count and added a new count of aggravated indecent assault without consent, per The Reporter.

Dinler is free on 10% of $250,000 cash bail, posted Oct. 4.

According to The Delaware County Daily Times, the victim, 21, had reportedly been raped in a residence hall of the university in Radnor Township.

Detectives met with the victim, who reported she had five alcoholic drinks on an empty stomach before going out to celebrate a birthday, police said. She felt ill on the way to a Philadelphia nightclub and she decided to not go into the club, instead taking an Uber back to the university, driven by Dinler, authorities allege.

Per the report, an Uber receipt shows a pickup by “Mirvan” at 10:19 pm. on the 900 block of Watts Street and a drop off at 11:08 p.m.

The victim told police Dinler followed her to her residence in Hovnanian Hall, where he entered her room and raped her, according to the article.

According to the report, detectives reviewed campus security footage that showed the woman being escorted toward Hovnanian Hall by a man at 11:09 to 11:10 p.m. that night.

Read more on the incident here.

“I don’t remember the drive at all,” the victim told Gallaher, according to The Reporter. “…I woke up in my dorm room. I didn’t really know where I was. I recognized that I was in my dorm room after a few moments because I have this specific light that I use and that was on in my dorm room, and I realized there was this random man who I had never seen on top of me.”

Arraignment in Delaware County Common Pleas Court is set for Jan. 2.