Content warning: This story contains references to sexual assault and other acts readers may find disturbing. Reader discretion is advised.
UA student Gambill Gentry was denied bond following a hearing Tuesday afternoon for his sex crimes case, and he will remain in the Tuscaloosa County Jail. Gentry was arrested July 25 on multiple felony charges, including rape in the first degree, sodomy in the first degree and multiple counts of voyeurism, after police allegedly found evidence that he had documented images of his assault of an unconscious female UA student on his phone.
The alleged assault took place July 12-13 from approximately 11:20 p.m. to 12:20 a.m. according to James Dodds, the lead investigator.
Judge Joanne Jannik denied bond because of safety concerns for the victim and the defendant’s high flight risk with charges that could carry sentences of decades in prison if he is found guilty.
Jannik noted in her order denying bond that Gentry’s “concerning pattern of behavior” regarding the alleged victim was not an isolated incident and that evidence shown at the hearing demonstrated that Gentry could pose a threat to her if released on bond.
Dodds testified at the hearing that the “concerning behavior” included the defendant contacting the victim after being asked not to, showing up at her internship in June and allegedly harassing the victim at her apartment hours before the alleged assault.
According to Gentry’s attorney, the alleged victim and Gentry had a relationship between October of 2022 and August of 2023 and have been in communication up until the arrest.
Dodds said that in April of this year, police responded to a report filed by the woman after Gentry allegedly broke her phone.
While court documents had previously said only that the woman appeared unconscious in the images of the alleged assault from July, Dodds clarified that she was intoxicated the night of the incident.
He also clarified that those images, which court documents previously said Gentry sent to a friend of the victim, were sent to a former friend of Gentry’s who is potentially romantically involved with the alleged victim. Dobbs said the defendant sent other messages regarding the incident to people in a group chat, including ones calling the victim a “slut” and apparently referring to the alleged incident as a rape.
It is still unclear why the messages were sent, and Dodds stated that he could not comment on Gentry’s state of mind when he allegedly sent them.
Dodds also testified that Gentry had Googled a question about how long one can test rape for.
Gentry’s attorneys argued that if the defendant were to wear an ankle monitor, receive counseling from a third party, return to his North Carolina home and have his electronic usage monitored, then he could be released on bond without being a safety concern.
Jannik disagreed, writing in her order that “the Court finds there are no conditions that could assure the Court that the Defendant’s behavior could be monitored or contained in such a way to assure the victim’s safety.”
The next major step in the case will be grand jury proceedings, where jurors will review the evidence against Gentry and decide whether to indict him on each charge and move the case forward.
