Former Mayfield High valedictorian accused of rape at NMSU

A former Mayfield High School valedictorian is accused of rape at New Mexico State University.

ABC-7’s New Mexico Mobile Newsroom obtained court documents detailing the arrest of 18-year-old Christopher Catanach.

On January 26, 2018, documents state, Catanach sexually assaulted a woman at an on campus apartment complex at NMSU

Catanach is a student at the university. The accuser was 18 years old at the time of the alleged assault, documents state.

Documents state Catanach gave the accuser vodka. Authorities say the victim got drunk and started vomiting in the bathroom.

The young woman told police she “blacked out” and that she only remembered certain events. She told investigators Catanach raped her in the bathroom.

The next thing the woman remembered, documents state, was being consoled by her roommate.

The accuser spoke with a counselor who referred her to La Piñon, a sexual assault recovery service.

Catanach told investigators he and the woman had consensual sex.

Documents state Catanach asked the woman, several times, if what he was doing to her was okay and the woman allegedly said “yes.”

Documents also state Catanach did tell investigators he didn’t know if the victim remembered saying “yes” because she may have “blacked out.”

Catanach is charged with criminal sexual penetration and giving alcohol to a minor.