Orange County resident James Garnett Lloyd pleaded guilty to breaking into the Delta Zeta sorority house in March during Charlottesville Circuit Court proceedings Wednesday. Lloyd also remains under investigation for the sexual assault of a University student under Beta Bridge last October.
Lloyd pleaded guilty to the charge of entering an occupied dwelling with intent to commit larceny, Charlottesville Police Lt. Chip Harding said.
Harding said the crime is a felony and carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison.
Asst. City Commonwealth's Attorney Ron Huber, who is overseeing Lloyd's case, said Lloyd will be sentenced March 9.
Lloyd was arrested March 14 after being found inside the sorority house.
Harding said Lloyd was found in one of the bedrooms of the house and the door of the Chancellor Street house had been kicked in.
Lloyd also has been charged with, but has not pleaded guilty to, an Oct. 17, 1998 break-in at Delta Zeta.
Huber said Lloyd will face a preliminary hearing on those charges of breaking and entering Dec. 9.
Harding said Lloyd also is under investigation for the Oct. 15, 1998 rape of a female University student under Beta Bridge.
Police have taken DNA samples from Lloyd, he said, and should know in a few weeks whether his DNA matches evidence from the crime.
He added that because Lloyd is now in police custody, the DNA-matching procedure does not have the highest priority and officials are unsure how quickly they will receive the test results.
Harding said sometimes police will request that the laboratory test be given priority if a crime is "extremely violent and the suspect is not in custody," but those conditions do not apply in this case.
He said police would be "remiss not to ask for DNA samples" in this case, and added that all convicted felons are required to provide a DNA sample under state law.
He added that Lloyd is a suspect in the rape case because of three factors -- his history of sexual crimes, his charge for the Oct. 17 break-in which occurred only 25 hours after the rape under the bridge and the proximity of Delta Zeta to Beta Bridge.
Lloyd has been found guilty of sex crimes on six previous occasions and had spent a total of 84 days in jail for those incidents.
Lloyd's attorney, Cheryl Higgins, could not be reached for comment.
Delta Zeta President Adele Skaff could not be reached for comment.
Asst. Dean of Students Aaron Laushway praised police for investigating the crime thoroughly, but also said students should continue to be conscious of their safety.
"This should not suggest that students in general can let their guard down," Laushway said. "It cannot be understated that our students need to ceaselessly be aware of their environment"
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