Jacob Vanderpauye, also known as Atta Addo Vanderpauye, is a popular drum instructor at the University of Colorado Boulder, as well as an active musician on the local and international music scene.
But now he's been arrested on suspicion of sexually assaulting a former student.
A police report quotes him as apologizing to the victim and claiming to have been too drunk to remember exactly what happened.
CU Boulder has placed Vanderpauye on paid administrative leave. However, his university bio remains online at this writing. It features this photo....
...and the following text:
Atta Addo has been a drum instructor for African dance classes for CU-Boulder's Department of Theatre and Dance since 2009. He has also been a master drummer and vocalist for the local African cultural group "Logo Ligi" since 2009. He became the percussionist for the West African reggae/pop and Highlife band "Selasee and the Fafa Family" since 2009 and switched to playing the drum kit for this band in 2011. He played percussion and toured 49 states in the US with the Californian based band "Soulfege" from 2007. In 2007, he was invited from Ghana to Colorado to perform during the 7th anniversary performance of the CU-Boulder highlife ensemble concert at Macky Auditorium. In 2006 he volunteered to give drum lessons to students from CU who were studying abroad in Ghana with Professor Kwesi Ampene. Atta Addo became the band leader for the Megastar music company based in Ghana, West Africa in 2000-2005. He started working for the Megastar music company in 1993-2005 by providing percussion accompaniment for various artists being managed by the company, with performances across Africa and Europe, including a 2 month/15 country tour with Rex Omar, an international artist from Ghana. He has 23 years teaching experiences in African drumming, dance and singing. He also taught drumming from 1990-1999 at the Arts Center in Accra, Ghana.Vanderpauye can also be seen in plenty of easily accessible videos.
As for the charges against Vanderpauye, they stem from an incident that began on January 23.
According to an arrest affidavit obtained by the Boulder Daily Camera, a 21-year-old former student of Vanderpauye's ran into him while bar-hopping with friends.
By evening's end, the woman was "very drunk," the report states. Vanderpauye offered to let her crash at his home and she accepted under the belief that sex wasn't on the agenda.
She fell asleep fully dressed around 2:30 a.m. the following morning, but the affidavit says she awakened later (after once fending off Vanderapuye, who'd attempted to kiss her) to discover that some of her clothes had been removed and he was sexually assaulting her.
After being examined at a hospital, the woman phoned Vanderpauye with police present to talk about what happened.
"That's no good for me to do when you are sleeping," the affidavit quotes him as responding. "Please, I am sorry. I know what you're saying is right. Can I do something to make it up to you? I feel so bad."
Subsequent interviews with Vanderpauye, who reportedly has previous convictions for driving under the influence, included "many discrepancies," the affidavit maintains — but he allegedly acknowledged that he and the woman had sex.
Vanderpauye faces three sexual-assault charges. He's currently free on a $25,000 bond. Here's his booking photo.
