NORTHAMPTON — A Marblehead man accused of raping a fellow student while attending the University of Massachusetts Amherst had his bail revoked on Thursday.
Judge John Agostini did not give a reason in open court why he was revoking Dominic Ballard’s bail and ordering him held. Ballard is being held in the Hampshire County House of Correction.
Ballard, 25, is on trial in Hampshire Superior Court on two counts of rape. The charges stem from two separate alleged incidents in Amherst in October 2017 when he was 23 and a senior at UMass and his accuser was 19 and a sophomore. The first incident is alleged to have occurred in his accuser’s room on campus while the second incident is alleged to have occurred in Ballard’s off-campus room.
The trial went to the jury Wednesday, and while the jury indicated a verdict had been reached on one rape charge, they said they were deadlocked on the other charge Thursday.
Agostini instructed the jury to continue its deliberations on Monday.
Bera Dunau can be reached at bdunau@gazettenet.com.
