A Kansas man charged in connection with a reported attempted sexual assault on the University of Nebraska-Lincoln’s City Campus was arrested Friday in Wichita, according to UNL Police. Joseph A. Favata, 32, of Andover, Kansas, was taken into custody by the Metro Fugitive Task Force with assistance from the U.S. Marshals Office.
Police said Favata is being held in the Sedgwick County Jail on outstanding warrants for attempted first-degree sexual assault and first-degree false imprisonment. The charges stem from a reported incident involving a member of the UNL community near North 16th and R streets early Sept. 29.
An initial campus safety alert described unwanted fondling and kissing that reportedly occurred between approximately 1:25 and 1:35 a.m. Police later announced that investigators had identified Favata and worked with the Lancaster County Attorney’s Office to obtain an arrest warrant. “As a result of the quick work of our investigators and officers, the suspect was able to be identified,” UNL Police Interim Chief Marty Fehringer said in the earlier announcement. “After he was identified we then worked with the Lancaster County Attorney’s Office to have a warrant issued for his arrest.”
Police entered the warrant information into a national law enforcement database and coordinated with authorities in Kansas. Friday’s update confirmed Favata was in custody but did not provide a timetable for his return to Nebraska.