A UF graduate student who was arrested in April for groping a woman in front of Library West after telling her he was removing a bug from her body will plead no contest on Friday.
Robin Garg, 23, will likely face a few more months in jail and about three years of probation, said Geoffrey Mason, the suspect's lawyer. He could also be deported when he is released. He has been in jail since his arrest on April 14.
He asked a judge on Friday for more time to enter a plea.
Wearing a loose-fitting, green-striped inmate outfit and glasses, Garg spoke softly.
After he was arrested in April, he confessed to groping 33 women on campus because he "liked to scare women," according to University Police Department.
UPD said in April that 31 women said they'd been touched by Garg, and five others said they were approached.
Some of the women did not file charges.
As a result, 25 cases of misdemeanor battery are currently pending against Garg.
Under an agreement, he will plead no contest to five counts of battery, and the other 19 cases will be dropped, Mason said.
The deal depends on the results of a psychological evaluation that will determine if Garg has a mental illness that makes him a risk to others. The evaluation should be completed this week, Mason said.
After the plea, Garg will not be allowed any contact with UF or any of his alleged victims, he said.
A U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement detainer has also been placed on Garg, which means he could be deported to his home country, India, when he is released from jail, according to an ICE spokeswoman.
"He's from a different society, different upbringing," he said. "He's a nice guy, but wrong place, wrong time, wrong situation."
