Brianna Brochu, Accused Of Harassing Black Roommate, Avoids Hate Crime Charge

A former Connecticut university student accused of smearing bodily fluids on her black roommate's belongings pleaded not guilty and avoided facing additional hate crime charges.

Brianna Brochu of Harwinton, Connecticut, was charged with criminal mischief and breach of peace after she harassed her roommate at University of Hartford, Chennel Rowe, by smearing her backpack with a dirty tampon and admitting in an October Instagram post she put Rowe’s toothbrush “where the sun doesn’t shine.”

The Hartford Courant stated prosecutors did not file additional charges Monday against Brochu. Representatives of the state NAACP and other civil rights advocates asked the state to add a hate crimes charge and protested in front of the courtroom again during Monday’s hearing, NBC News reported.

The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) Greater Hartford Branch President Imam Abdul-Shahid Muhammad Ansari attended the hearing and said neither he nor the other NAACP members were not pleased with the decision.

"She should be charged with a hate crime," he told NBC News Monday. "We made our feelings known and will continue to do so, letting the community know and elected officials know as well."

After the hearing, Brochu left the courthouse without commenting.

Earlier in November, she told the Republican-American newspaper in an interview she acted foolishly but was not a racist.

In the incident that sparked widespread outrage, Brochu bragged about what she did to her roommate, Chennel Rowe, on her Instagram after she moved out. She also called Rowe “Jamaican Barbie.”

“Finally did it yo girl got rid of her roommate!! After 1 1/2 month of spitting in her coconut oil, putting moldy clam dip in her lotions, rubbing used tampons [on] her backpack, putting her toothbrush places where the sun doesn’t shine and so much more I can finally say goodbye Jamaican Barbie,” wrote Brochu.

Rowe then said in a Facebook post she thought the alleged abuse was racially motivated. She added she was sick during the beginning of the school year, and blamed Brochu for her illness. Rowe also criticized the college for its handling of the matter.

“As a young African American woman I don’t want to become another statistic. When it comes to college incidents/crimes and racial cases justice needs to be served. Colleges are known to just sweep issues that happen within the campus under the rug, making the issue disappear and not doing anything about it,” said Rowe in the post.

Brochu admitted to the police she smeared used tampons on her roommate’s bag and licked her utensils, but denied doing some of the things she wrote in the post. She told police she wanted to appear “funny” and she lashed out at Rowe “due to a 'hostile environment' caused by [Rowe’s] rude behavior, not compromising, and posting Snapchat videos of me sleeping and making fun of me snoring.”

The University of Hartford expelled her following the outrage and subsequent arrest. Prosecutors said the case was still being investigated and would be continued until Jan. 29.