CU Boulder research assistant charged with rape, assault in June – Boulder Daily Camera

A Boulder man was arrested Friday for allegedly sexually assaulting a woman and striking her in the face in June.

Peter Donovan Tatum, 32, was arrested on suspicion of sexual assault, second-degree assault and third-degree assault.

According to an affidavit, on July 23 at 9 p.m., a Boulder Police Department detective was assigned to investigate a sexual assault that reportedly occurred on June 29.

Police noted that the woman was 18 years old and Tatum was 32 years old at the time of the attack.

In an interview with officers, the woman said she first met Tatum on Tinder in November 2023 and that he told her he was not interested in having sex.

According to the affidavit, the woman said Tatum “was a little challenging from the start” and that she “doubted his statement and felt like he wanted to have sex with her.”

The woman told police she felt Tatum purposely hid her age from his Tinder profile “so he could match with girls set under his age.”

The woman stated that Tatum pressured her multiple times to say “something naughty or suggestive” so he could tie her up.

According to the statement, Tatum reportedly sexually assaulted the woman and hit her in the face after handcuffing her on June 29.

The woman told police she “consented to being tied up but did not consent to any other action during the sexual assault,” saying it was clear she was disturbed and in pain.

Tatum is a research assistant and doctoral student at the Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics on the University of Colorado Boulder campus and is currently enrolled, according to CU Boulder spokeswoman Nicole Mueksch.

“The University of Colorado Boulder can confirm that a student named Peter Tatum is currently enrolled,” Mueksch said in a statement. “Although CU Boulder cannot discuss specific cases due to privacy laws, all CU Boulder students are subject to university policies and those found responsible for policy violations will be held accountable regardless of whether a violation occurs on or off campus.”

“CU Boulder is committed to continually improving our prevention and education efforts and response resources to meet the needs of our campus community,” Mueksch added.

He was released on $50,000 bail on Friday and appeared for a reinstatement of charges on December 4.