Editor’s note: This story contains descriptions of sexual abuse and may be upsetting to some readers. Please see the bottom of this story for relevant resources.
A D.C. Superior Court judge maintained a stay-away order banning American University student Kris Estrada from AU’s campus and locations around Tenleytown for 90 days at a Friday hearing.
Estrada pleaded guilty in November to five counts of voyeurism on campus after being caught recording a student in a campus bathroom. A sixth count of evidence tampering was dismissed by prosecutors in a plea deal.
Judge Jennifer A. Di Toro, who was assigned the case on May 3, also ordered a “psychosexual assessment” and monitoring of Estrada’s phone and computer to ensure he wasn’t reoffending.
Police estimated that Estrada’s voyeurism occurred on at least 50 separate days over a year and could include as many as 100 separate victims, though only five could be identified.
Di Toro said in the hearing she wanted to ensure Estrada’s probation officer “has all the information they need” to supervise his 36-month probation.
Charles R. Haskell, Estrada’s defense attorney, asked the court to limit the stay-away order to just AU’s campus because the academic year has ended. The current order bans him from locations in Tenleytown, such as the campus shuttle bus stop next to Wawa.
Estrada had an encounter with one of the known victims, attorneys said, but the two sides disagreed on the severity of the incident. Assistant U.S. Attorney Brian Kelly argued that the victim felt that Estrada intentionally “ran into” the victim, but Haskell said it was accidental.
The prosecution characterized the incident as an “infraction,” but not a formal violation of his probation, Haskell said in the Friday hearing. In exchange, Estrada agreed to 30 days of GPS monitoring, which ended June 5. In May, Di Toro added the off-campus locations to the stay-away order.
Initially the judge did not allow the Court Services and Offender Supervision Agency to monitor the contents of Estrada’s phone, but at the Friday hearing Di Toro let his probation officer add a system that would alert the agency to pornographic content and keywords on his devices.
Community Supervision Officer Isaiah Burnett first requested the program April 28, after he said Estrada contacted a victim of a separate voyeurism case on Instagram. Burnett said in a letter to the court that Estrada was not the perpetrator in that case, but the victim was aware of his case and “expressed concern at being contacted by him.”
Di Toro initially denied Burnett’s recommendation but said on Friday that after hearing both sides, she felt it was appropriate, even though Haskell argued it was a “huge violation of his privacy and could interfere with therapy.”
“Being on probation involves a loss of privacy,” the judge responded to Haskell’s objections.
Estrada’s case came to light last year amid two other campus voyeurism cases and the sentencing in a sexual abuse that occurred in Leonard Hall in 2023.
A student in Bender Library caught Estrada secretly recording them in a second-floor bathroom on July 22, 2024. The student reported the incident to AUPD, who identified Estrada by matching security footage to his AU One Card photo.
Police searched his Constitution Hall room on July 25, just hours before he was last seen by friends, who reported him missing on July 28.
He turned himself in to police days later and initially pleaded not guilty.
He reversed his plea last November and in February was sentenced to 36 months of probation. Estrada received a suspended sentence of five years in prison — one for each count. He will only have to serve jail time if he violates the conditions of his probation, including the stay-away order and other requirements that he stay in mental health treatment.
The court will review the conditions — primarily, the electronic device monitoring and applicability of the Youth Rehabilitation Act — again at 9:30 a.m. on Sept. 19 in the Moultrie Courthouse, courtroom 215.
Students who have experienced sexual assault or harassment can seek support through confidential resources such as the University’s Center for Well-Being Programs and Psychological Services, the Student Health Center, the Kay Spiritual Life Center or the following hotlines:
- Collegiate Assistance Program: 1-855-678-8679
- Rape, Abuse, Incest, National Network (RAINN) anonymous chat
- RAINN hotline: 1-800-656-4673
- DC Rape Crisis Center: 202-333-7273
Other resources include:
Non-confidential resources include the University’s Title IX Office and AUPD.
This article was edited by Payton Anderson, Neil Lazurus, Abigail Hatting and Walker Whalen. Copy editing done by Sabine Kanter-Huchting.
