Man Accused in UMass Rape: Sex Was Consensual

One of four men charged with gang-raping a University of Massachusetts student has testified that the sex was consensual.

Twenty-one-year-old Emmanuel Bile Jr. of Pittsfield took the stand at his trial Thursday and said the woman was conscious and willing when they had sex in October 2012. Bile is the first of the four men to go on trial.

The 21-year-old woman testified Wednesday that Bile and his three friends raped her repeatedly in her Amherst dorm room while she was drunk and drifting in and out of consciousness. The other three men charged are Pittsfield residents Adam Liccardi and Justin King and Caleb Womack of Windsor Locks, Connecticut.

Bile said the woman consented, but on cross-examination said she never spoke.

Closing arguments are set for Friday.