BELLEFONTE — A former Penn State student was found guilty yesterday in the June 2 sexual assault of a co-worker.

Darold Davis, who was also found not guilty of rape charges stemming from the incident, graduated from Penn State less than a month before the assault.

Sexual assault, a second-degree felony, mandates a state prison term. Centre County District Attorney Ray Gricar said the guidelines for sentencing range from three to six years and up to four and a half to nine years in prison. Gricar said he will ask for a four to eight year prison term. Davis' sentencing is scheduled for Dec. 5.

Gricar said he hopes Davis' guilty verdict will be a deterrent to sex offenders, sending a message that Centre County takes sexual assault cases seriously — including acquaintance rape type cases, which Gricar said can be the most difficult to prosecute.

"When a woman says 'no,' she means no, and that has to be respected," Gricar said.

According to the Affidavit of Probable Cause, the following events occurred June 2: Davis, the victim and other friends went to a nightclub. Later that night, Davis and another male friend came to the victim's Patton Township apartment. The other man left after about 45 minutes, leaving Davis and the victim alone in her apartment.

The victim went to bed in her bedroom, and Davis went to sleep on the living room couch. The victim woke up to discover Davis on top of her.

As she attempted to push him off her, she told him, "No," and asked him, "What are you doing?" Davis used his weight to push her back down and proceeded to have sex with her.

Afterward, he got up and went into the victim's bathroom. He returned and laid down next to her. The victim told him to leave, but he didn't move.

The victim went into her living room and fell asleep. When she woke up, Davis was gone but had left her a note, apologizing for what happened. In the note, Davis said he was high, and the incident was not intentional.

According to the affidavit, the "not" was added to the sentence, which originally read "it was intentional." Davis again wrote that he was sorry and said he hoped the incident could stay between them.

During a police interview, Davis admitted to having sex with the victim, but said he thought the victim was consenting. He told police he entered her room to use the bathroom during the night and then thought he would see how far he could get with the victim sexually. He began kissing her to wake her up, and since she didn't say anything or push him away, he thought it was OK to keep going, Davis said.

Davis said he left the note because he didn't want the incident to ruin their friendship.