A former Eastern student charged with criminal sexual assault in May stands trial Tuesday.

Antwan G. Oliver, 21, was indicted for accusations of engaging in sexual intercourse with a woman using force off campus in January. Oliver was among three former male students who were handed down grand jury indictments on similar charges May 24.

Oliver was enrolled as an undergraduate student last year and involved in athletics.

Many cases of sexual assault at Eastern are not prosecuted because there are few “stranger assaults,” said Bonnie Buckley, executive director for Sexual Assault Counseling and Information Services. Instead, the victims know their assaulter which, she said, makes it more difficult for victims to pursue charges.

If the cases go to court, many can be hard to try and convict, Buckley said. Sexual assault is a unique crime because, she said, it usually has no witnesses but the victims themselves; the case comes down to one person’s word against another.

“They’re not easy cases to prosecute,” Buckley said.

In addition, she said, in cases with jury trials such as Oliver’s, in order to convict a defendant, the jury must return a unanonymous verdict of guilty beyond a reasonable doubt, which is difficult.