LSU Student Arrested for Alleged Third-Degree Rape and Extortion

An LSU student, who was already out on bond after a cyberstalking arrest earlier this year, was booked on Tuesday in a separate rape case.

According to the arrest warrant, a woman has accused 23-year-old Michael "Sonny" Trinh of rape. The alleged rape happened in late January.

The woman told officers that she met Sonny through the social media app Snapchat and began a relationship.

She told officers that after the initial meetup, though, Sonny became "pushy about sexual things," according to the warrant. The woman alleges that he threatened to leak nude photos of her if she didn't continue communicating with him.

Investigators said that the two met up at the victim's dorm in Hegret Hall in late January. The woman told police the extortion threats made her reluctant to reject his requests and that he pressured her into sexual acts. Trinh reportedly later apologized to the woman, saying that he found God.

Court records show that Trinh was also arrested by the LSU Police Department for charges of cyberstalking and extortion back in February.

Investigators said the victim was afraid to come forward because of the suspect's threats to share explicit photos, and only confided in someone after finding out about Trinh's first arrest.

Trinh was booked into jail on Tuesday for third-degree rape and extortion.

LSU released the following statement in light of these allegations: 

“This student has been arrested and along with going through the legal system, will also go through our student conduct process. While federal law prohibits us from sharing any findings or disciplinary actions based on that process, we want to assure our community that we take this matter very seriously and are taking all the proper steps. We are also doing everything possible to assist the survivor of this incident and are making available to her the full range of the university’s resources and support.”