Rape trial of Dartmouth alumnus begins Friday

Kyle Clampitt, a 2020 Dartmouth graduate and former member of the men’s lacrosse team, emerges from a conference room at the Grafton County Superior Court in North Haverhill, N.H. on Wednesday, Jan 8, 2025. Clampitt faces 12 counts of aggravated felonious sexual assault and two counts of second-degree assault/strangulation. (Valley News-Jennifer Hauck)

Kyle Clampitt, a 2020 Dartmouth graduate and former member of the men’s lacrosse team, emerges from a conference room at the Grafton County Superior Court in North Haverhill, N.H. on Wednesday, Jan 8, 2025. Clampitt faces 12 counts of aggravated felonious sexual assault and two counts of second-degree assault/strangulation. (Valley News-Jennifer Hauck) Jennifer Hauck

By JOHN LIPPMAN

Valley News Staff Writer

Published: 01-23-2025 6:31 PM

NORTH HAVERHILL — Prosecutors are prepared to call more than two dozen witnesses, including the female Dartmouth College student who reported she was the victim of a brutal sexual assault on the roof of a college fraternity nearly three years ago, during the rape trial of a Dartmouth alumnus set to begin in a Grafton County courtroom on Friday.

Kyle Clampitt, 26, a 2020 Dartmouth graduate, faces 14 charges, including 12 counts of aggravated felonious sexual assault, for allegedly raping a then-18-year-old female freshman on the roof of the Theta Delta Chi fraternity in the early morning hours of April 24, 2022.

Clampitt, originally from Bloomsbury, N.J., and a former player on Dartmouth’s lacrosse team, has pleaded not guilty to the charges and notified the court that he may rely upon a “defense of consent,” arguing that any alleged sexual encounter between the parties was consensual, according to court documents filed by Clampitt’s defense attorneys.

Attorneys for Clampitt early on said they expected the case would “likely” go to trial and may rely upon a defense consent strategy.

Included on the list of witnesses the state submitted are six either current or graduated Dartmouth students, including two former members of the lacrosse team, court filings show. The state on its witness list also included six members of the Hanover Police Department, three medical personnel — including an emergency room doctor — with Dartmouth Health, three lab technicians, New Hampshire’s chief medical examiner and a state narcotics investigator.

The defense said it may call as witnesses any of the names on the state’s list in addition to a private New Hampshire-based investigator and a New Hampshire registered nurse who could challenge findings the state might produce from the alleged victim’s post-incident medical examinations.

Leading the prosecution team on behalf of the state are assistant Grafton County attorneys Amanda Jacobson and Taylor Moult. Clampitt is represented by Robin Melone and Richard Samdperil, both veteran New Hampshire criminal defense attorneys.

The Valley News generally does not identify people who allege they are victims of sex crimes.

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In recent months the prosecution and defense have filed a series of motions and counter-motions with the court, quarreling over everything from whether the prosecution can refer to the “complaining witness” as a “victim” and the encounter as an “assault” to the admissibility of “hearsay” statements witnesses reported to police investigators.

In the days after the alleged sexual assault, a former TDX president sent out an email to community members in which he acknowledged reports that “a serious criminal incident” had occurred at the fraternity and measures were being taken to improve safety, The Dartmouth student newspaper reported.

“It should come as no surprise to us that female guests often feel unsafe at our house,” the email said, and detailed certain security measures that would be implemented. The email asserted that anti-gender-based violence and sexual assault education programs would be required of new members and leaders alike.

The trial is expected to last about a week.

Contact John Lippman at jlippman@vnews.com.