A notice, sent out this past Sunday to the campus community, brought attention to a report of sexual assault which stated that an investigation had been opened on the report of a non-stranger sexual assault.
The incident allegedly happened in an on-campus residence hall during Saturday evening somewhere between 10:00 p.m. and midnight.
The notice was sent due to the Jeanne Clery Disclosure of Campus Security and Campus Crime Statistics Act, which requires the Longwood Police Department to “notify the University community in a timely manner when a reported crime or incidents occurs on or near the University campus which represents an ongoing or serious threat to the University community,” according to the Timely Warning policy of the department.
According to Chief Robert Beach, the chief of the Longwood Police Department, the report was made by a third party.
He also stated that a “non-stranger” description refers to the alleged victim knowing the person who allegedly committed sexual assault against the individual.
“The Clery Act requires that if we have a sexual assault that’s reported to us, and we’re investigating it and we do not have the person in custody that did the sexual assault, that we must give a timely notice to the population that that event has occurred. We don’t give a lot of facts. The real purpose of it is to advise students that these types of events do occur, and that this event has been reported to us at this point, and that we are investigating it should they have additional information,” said Beach.
This incident was the only sexual assault report from this past weekend. Beach said there was not an increase in reports from this weekend, but that there was a significant number of calls for service, such as complaints about loud noise, or notices of suspicious people in parking lots.
Other complaints made this weekend included three of possession of marijuana and one of vandalism (all unfounded), and one of larceny in Frazer Hall for which an arrest was made, according to the police department’s daily crime log.
Jen Fraley, the Associate Dean of Conduct and Integrity and the university’s Title IX coordinator, oversees the Title IX process, procedures and investigations which cover sexual assault reports.
According to Fraley, investigations are carried out by university employees who volunteer for the positions of Title IX investigators.
“Once my office receives a report of notice...I then reach out to the individuals involved in that particular report of notice to give them information about filing a formal complaint, about resources that we have on campus to offer them and what avenues they can take in our process,” said Fraley.
Title IX investigations are kept under confidentiality and investigations are started immediately after reports are made to campus police and Title IX officials.
Sexual assault cannot be predicted, but there are measures that can be taken to better ensure safety.
“First of all, you must be aware of your surroundings. You must control your own ability to reason and use logic in the decisions that you make. That will be hampered every time if you use alcohol and drugs. That’s personal responsibility….I always suggest that you travel with other people that you’re close with and friends with. People that you trust that help you make good decisions...” said Beach.
LiveSafe is an application that promotes campus safety and can be downloaded for free. The application allows students to report directly to campus police from the application. Beach encourages students to utilize this technology which he describes to be “one of the most significant technology moves that we’ve used in the Longwood Police Department since I’ve been here.”
Students who believe that they have been a victim of sexual assault are highly encouraged to report to campus police or Title IX officials.
