A student at the Kennedy School of Government (KSG) who was allegedly assaulted this fall by her then-boyfriend and classmate says that the school has not taken enough action during the past six months to keep the alleged offender off campus.

In an ongoing criminal proceeding, Ayacx C. Mercedes, 34, is charged with the assault and battery of his former girlfriend Raquel Reyes ’99, after an incident during the early morning hours of Oct. 13, 2002.

Both Mercedes and Reyes, 26, were second-year students in the Kennedy School’s Master of Public Policy (MPP) program at the time.

According to reports by the Harvard University Police Department officers who responded to the scene, Mercedes admitted at the time to hitting Reyes.

“Mercedes stated that Reyes was his girlfriend of over a year and he had indeed struck her in the face three times with his hand,” wrote Officer Jack O’Kane in a police report dated Oct. 13.

After the incident, Mercedes was taken to jail, while Reyes went first to University Health Services and then to Mt. Auburn Hospital for a face X-ray and treatment for swelling on her lip, jaw and cheek and bruising under her eye, according to police reports.

Mercedes pled not guilty to charges of assault and battery and was released Oct. 15. The charge carries a maximum prison sentence of two-and-a-half years and a maximum fine of $1000.

Several motions—including a failed effort yesterday by the defense to suppress evidence—have been heard in the ongoing case before Cambridge District Court.

Mercedes could not be reached for comment, and his attorney did not return repeated calls to his house and office.

A court spokesperson says that it is unclear when the case will actwill actually go to trial.

As the case remains unresolved, Reyes says she has been frustrated that Kennedy School administrators have have not taken adequate disciplinary action against Mercedes—especially in not banning him from campus.

When she complained, administrators told her to file a restraining order with the courts, which she did in December.

“They knew he had done it,” Reyes says. “He himself had said what he had done, and he was still allowed to be on campus.”

At the Kennedy School

Reyes says she still has nightmares about the incident and was forced to drop into the school’s less-demanding Masters of Public Administration program because she could not complete course requirements in the MPP program in time to graduate this June.