Arrest Made in 2014 Gang Rape Case

UCSB police officers traveled Wednesday to the Hayward Hall of Justice to arrest Daniel Jiang Chen, a 21-year-old former UCSB student from San Ramon, for involvement in the brutal, high-profile gang rape on campus in 2014. Chen appeared in Alameda County court at 9:00 a.m. for an unrelated felony marijuana charge from a January incident.

According to UCSB police Sgt. Rob Romero, law enforcement officers were able to link Chen’s DNA sample — he provided a swab when booked for the felony drug arrest — to that found at the scene of the gang rape through a match in the FBI’s Combined Index System, better known as CODIS. Romero declined to release further details, citing an active investigation.

On February 23, 2014, a 19-year-old UCSB female student was attacked and raped for hours by an estimated three men in a dark area covered in overgrown foliage on the edge of campus. The victim suffered a broken nose, blunt trauma to her knees, among other injuries, and contracted genital herpes. She managed to escape, run home, and call the police. She then took a rape kit. The victim, whose identity is undisclosed by authorities, filed a personal-injury lawsuit against the university last month.

Chen, who was enrolled at UCSB from 2012-2013, faces charges of rape and false imprisonment. The Santa Barbara District Attorney’s Office worked with UCPD on the arrest warrant. The Sheriff’s Office, the Department of Justice (DOJ) crime lab, and the FBI contributed to the investigation.