UH rape suspect held at $15 million dollar bail, Renu Khator addresses concerns

After being arrested on Tuesday afternoon, Eric Latroy Brown, 40, is being held on a combined $15 million dollar bail. 

Brown is charged with two counts of aggravated sexual assault and a count of aggravated robbery with a deadly weapon in connection with the rape of a UH student in the Welcome Center student garage on Feb. 7. 

This makes it one of the highest bail amounts for current inmates in the Harris County Jail. As of now, only 13 defendants are being held on a $5 million bail on at least one charge, according to county data.

Brown cannot enter within 1,000 feet of any university campus in Texas.

The 40-year-old suspect failed to appear during a probable cause court hearing early Wednesday. He was also not represented by a public defender. Officials believe Brown is homeless. 

Earlier last week, UH informed students and staff that a new arrest warrant was issued under his name.

Despite an initial arrest on Feb. 7, various news outlets believe that according to records, he was released the same day as the attack because the police didn’t pursue sexual assault charges. Authorities said that it was due to communication problems between prosecutors and the police. 

At a press conference on Wednesday afternoon, President Renu Khator addressed the concerns regarding UHPD’s response.

“I cannot answer about what happened between the police and the DA’s office, I cannot be part of the investigation, so I do not know that,” Khator said. “But one thing I know for sure is that we are going to look into everything and see if there are any loops or any holes that we can fix.”

One of the main concerns of students and parents revolves around UH’s transparency when it comes to communication. 

Khator reassured the community that she would learn more about student’s concerns regarding transparency issues. 

Brown allegedly assaulted the female student for 15 minutes inside her car, and stole $30 and mail from the student, according to police reports.

Brown remains in jail as of Wednesday. 

UH’s response, future plans

 Khator will be hiring an outside expert consultant to come to UH and look at campus safety and security as a long-term solution.  

A task force will also be made that includes students, faculty and staff members so that everybody’s angle can be considered, Khator said. 

“Now I’m focused on the long-term plans because first, it was important to really focus on the immediate term,” Khator said. “It was to make sure people feel safe and that this kind of thing doesn’t happen again.”

An update on the Campus Lighting Project was also shared. The project’s phase two was expedited and the third phase had already begun. The project is now expected to be completed by the end of the year. 

Priority Lots, which are student housing facilities, consist of Lots 3A, 3B, 4A and 6A, and their estimated completion timeline is Nov. 2025. 

The additional lots, which consist of Lots 12A, 15H, 16B/C/D/F/E, and 21 A/B are expected to be completed by Dec. 2025. 

Both Khator and Board of Regents Chairman Tillman J. Fertitta emphasized that UH is a safe environment for both students and faculty. 

“First off, everybody has to remember this is a city of 50,000 people,” Fertitta said. “When you compare ourselves to other cities of 50,000 and other universities throughout the country, we get all of the information. So we’re able to compare each other and this is not an unsafe environment.”

There’s always going to be incidents when you’re dealing with cities at 50,000. The University would like to have none and they’re going to do everything they can not to have any incidents, Fertitta said. 

“I’m a realist, and you are going to continue to have an incident here and an incident there,” Fertitta said. “We’re gonna do everything we can to make it safer, but it’s never going away and everybody knows what a big supporter I am of law enforcement here in the city of Houston. I’d be the first one as chairman of the board saying we need to make changes.”

The statistics at UH show that the campus is a safe environment to study and work in as compared to the reports of other public universities of Texas, according to Khator and Fertitta. 

“To the parents, I would simply say that I’m a parent myself and I do understand why they would feel concerned for students,” Khator said. “But we have increased the presence of police here and we are taking every long-term measure.”

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