W&J grad hopes telling her story will save others from domestic abuse

Nicole Rosellini wasn't sure if she wanted to talk publicly about her abuse.

Then she heard what happened to Yeardley Love. The University of Virginia lacrosse player was murdered earlier this month. Love's former boyfriend, George Huguely, 22, was arrested in the case after he confessed to police that he kicked in the door to her bedroom and shook her violently, repeatedly banging her head against a wall.

That, Rosellini says, could have been her.

Rosellini pressed charges in December after her former boyfriend, Nicholas Masters, 22, a Washington & Jefferson College student from Glen Rock, choked her until she passed out. He pleaded guilty in April to simple assault and was accepted into the Accelerated Rehabilitative Disposition program. He received one year of probation, had to follow the conditions of a protection-from-abuse order, perform 50 hours of community service and have a drug and alcohol evaluation, according to court documents.

Masters' attorney, Vern Parkinson, did not return calls for comment for this story.

Rosellini is unhappy with how W&J handled the situation. However, she said she felt safe at the school and is not trying to make W&J look bad.

W&J President Tori Haring-Smith said she could not comment on any issue involving a student and legal issues. However, she said the college does everything in its power to protect its students.

"Whenever something comes to our attention, we take every action to assure the safety of our students," she said in a statement. "We will take measures which may take the form of something as simple as forbidding contacts between individuals or we may take more aggressive action. But we always protect our students."

Rosellini said she is not trying to single out W&J, as abuse is an issue that all colleges and universities need to face. Dating violence occurs in 1 in 5 college relationships, according to the Red Flag Campaign, a program designed to address and prevent dating violence.

Girls are dying because of domestic violence, Rosellini said. That's why she was willing to tell her story.