College diver skips town after co-ed accuses him of rape

A former member of the University of Utah men's swimming and diving team member has reportedly packed up and left the country after a female student accused him of raping her in her dorm room late last year.

Last December, Benjamin Smyth, a 19-year-old U of U sophomore, reportedly met the unnamed young woman in a dorm common area. She was reading a book when Smyth and some friends approached her. He and the girl reportedly exchanged contact information, and he soon afterward reached out to her.

According to reports, Smyth discovered that the young woman was alone in her dorm room, so he paid her a visit. Soon after gaining admittance into the room, Smyth allegedly began kissing her and pressuring her to engage in various sexual activities. The girl repeatedly told him no and that "she did not want to do that," court documents stated. Smyth allegedly ignored her protests and forced himself on her.

The young woman did not report the incident until February. Detectives were able to conduct an initial interview with Smyth, during which he initially denied knowing the alleged victim but eventually admitted "had sex with her when he first met her," the documents claimed. Discussions with Smyth's friends subsequently indicated that Smyth regularly bragged about his sexual conquests, especially those who lost their virginity to him. One friend called him "cocky," and others claimed that he kept a running tally of all of the women with whom he'd had sex.

Police then attempted to serve Smyth with a restraining order, but when they arrived at his U of U dorm room, they learned that Smyth, a Canadian citizen, had collected his belongings and returned to his native town of Vancouver, British Columbia.

On Monday, Smyth was charged in absentia of rape, forcible sodomy, and forcible sexual abuse. The swimming and diving team had already suspended Smyth from all team activities, and the university issued a statement about the accusations against him. "On February 16 we were made aware of a serious allegation involving a member of our men’s swimming and diving program," the statement read. "Upon being notified by the University’s Office of Equal Opportunity of a pending investigation, Ben Smyth was immediately suspended on Feb. 20 from all team activities. We take matters of this type very seriously, and have continued to monitor the situation."

Smyth has since been removed from the university's website, but reports indicate that he is a skilled diver. As a freshman, he placed second in the platform at the Pac-12 Championships and went on to compete in the NCAA Championships in the platform and three-meter events. He may also have participated in a competition just days before the alleged sexual assault.

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