In the early morning after the Wertland Street Block Party on Aug. 26, Charlottesville police arrested Cayden Jacob Dalton, a third-year College student, for charges of assault, strangulation and abduction.
Dalton was charged with one count of misdemeanor assault and two felonies — strangulation resulting in wounding or bodily injury and abduction by force or intimidation.
The victim reported Dalton had assaulted and prevented them from leaving the scene, according to information provided by CPD. The victim also obtained a no contact protective order, prohibiting Dalton from having any physical or verbal contact with them. Charlottesville police did not disclose the rest of the investigative file.
Charlottesville police have confirmed that the incident took place on the 1200 block of Wertland Street. Police arrested Dalton on the 400 block of 13th Street.
Dalton is in custody at the Albemarle-Charlottesville Regional Jail before his next hearing on Oct. 11. He had two hearings following the incident — Aug. 27 and Aug. 30 — and was denied bail both times.
University spokesperson Anthony de Bruyn said he would not comment specifically on the case, citing University practice and the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act, which restricts the disclosure of students’ education records.
“The University is committed to providing a safe, non-discriminatory educational and work environment and takes seriously any allegation of misconduct that violates University policy,” de Bruyn said in an email to The Cavalier Daily. “As a matter of practice, the University does not discuss details of ongoing criminal or University investigations.”
The University did not send out a community alert following Dalton’s arrest. The University sometimes sends out alerts for off-Grounds reports as directed by the Clery Act, a federal law requiring public universities to release information about crime on and near campus.
“The University assesses each incident to determine whether a community notification should be distributed pursuant to the Clery Act,” de Bruyn said. “When an incident is targeted toward a specific individual or when a subject is arrested and incarcerated and does not pose a serious or ongoing threat to the University community, the University may not distribute a notification.”
One individual was charged with public intoxication at Block Party, an informal event held by multiple student residences on and near Wertland Street on move-in weekend, which has been associated with excessive alcohol consumption, underage drinking and other illegal behavior. CPD did not originally disclose Dalton’s arrest to The Cavalier Daily because the arrest did not occur on Wertland Street, Sgt. Tony Newberry said.
Dalton is being represented by Rhonda Quagliana, an attorney with St. John, Bowling, Lawrence & Quagliana, LLP. Quagliana did not respond to a request for comment for this article.
Quagliana recently defended former University student Stephen Baril, who was accused of rape. In July, Baril entered into a plea deal to lower charges of misdemeanor sexual battery and felony unlawful wounding, and will not face jail time.
This article has been updated to clarify Baril’s charges and to note where Dalton was arrested.
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