MADELINE RAINERI | News Editor
UPDATE 10/22/18 – 5 p.m.
Boland’s fundraising page is no longer available on the GoFundMe website.
According to GoFundMe, the conditions for campaigns explicitly prohibit “campaigns in defense of formal charges or claims of heinous crimes, violent, hateful, sexual or discriminatory acts.”
An article by Pymnts.com also said “GoFundMe company spokeswoman Kelsea Little also confirmed in that the site does not allow ‘campaigns raising funds to benefit people who have been charged with violent crimes. Period.’ She further clarified that such postings are removed.”
Boland’s page had raised $689 by Monday at 2 p.m.
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A former Lindenwood student-athlete who is awaiting trial on charges related to secretly recording others having sex is using a crowdfunding campaign to help pay for his legal defense.
Xavier Boland, 24, created a GoFundMe page to raise money for his legal representation. His former lawyer, Thomas Burke, withdrew as counsel in early October, according to court records.
The GoFundMe page states that Boland “was wrongly accused and has been subjected to a legal system that was not thorough in its research, but was quick to judge with investigative efforts that were at best lackadaisical. He wishes not to be placed amongst the innocent masses who were incarcerated simply because they could not afford representation.”
The page claims he is currently a student at Lindenwood University. According to a statement from a university spokesperson, Boland is not a currently enrolled student.
Boland is asking for $30,000 to cover his legal fees. As of Monday morning, donations amounted to $609, from three anonymous donors.
Authorities arrested Boland in February after he allegedly recorded his roommate engaging in consensual sex with a woman. According to the probable cause statement, in an interview with police Boland admitted to recording the couple on his phone without their consent, as well as others discovered during the investigation, and asked the authorities interviewing him if they would delete the videos.
Charges of first-degree sexual abuse were added by prosecutors later. Boland allegedly sexually assaulted the woman he videotaped with his roommate.
Boland declined Sunday to comment on the GoFundMe page and his current status as a student.
If convicted, Boland may face up to 22 years in prison for four felony charges, according to Missouri statutes. Boland’s next court hearing is scheduled for Dec. 3.
EDITORS NOTE: Word choice in a prior version of this article could make it seem that Boland is a current student at Lindenwood. We based this off of the GoFundMe page. We have updated this story to reflect the truth, that Boland is not currently a student, and we apologize for the error.
