Oct. 10, 2010
False Police Report Warrant Issued in Marshall University Alleged Sexual Assault Incident
Delays in Release of Details Questioned
By Tony Rutherford
Huntingtonnews.net Reporter
Huntington, WV (HNN) - The Marshall University Police Department obtained two misdemeanor warrants Friday , Oct. 8, for the arrest of a former student, charging him with filing a false report of an emergency and obstruction to the MUPD on Sept. 12, 2010, said James E. Terry, MU’s Director of Public Safety.
In the report, the student accused three males of sexual assault of a female and a male in a freshman residence hall on the Huntington campus.
However, the delay in releasing information on the incident will apparently be scrutinized by the U.S. Department of Education, which administers the Clery Act. This law requires colleges and universities receiving federal aid to quickly disclose criminal incidents on campus. A handbook on the regulations appear to , in the interest of public safety, require disclosure of many uninvestigated reports. But, the handbook contains exceptions to early release. It’s unclear whether the circumstances described by Marshall officials trigger the exceptions.
Marshall University’s Department of Public Safety on line crime statistics from 2005-2008 list two forcible rapes ( 2005 and 2008) in resident halls and no non-forcible rapes having occurred. The statistics apply to on campus venues, public property and non-campus buildings on university property. The report does not have categories for simple assault, battery or sexual assault. The report lists zero aggravated assault and hate crimes.
On Friday, October 8, The Parthenon published an article that stated the Department of Public Safety has been keeping two sets of police incident reports. The university newspaper publishes periodic police blotter stories, which are public record. The publication stated:
“The Parthenon staffer returned to the department later and spoke to MUPD officer Randy Layne, who refused to provide the crime log binder but provided the staffer with the Clery Act binder. Layne told the staffer that Terry instructed all officers to only allow access to information covered under the Clery Act. The Parthenon had been unable to obtain any information on the allegations, despite a story published by the Charleston Gazette on Thursday that a report of sexual assault was obtained from the Marshall University Police Department's crime log. A Parthenon reporter who asked to review the crime log on multiple occasions during the semester was not given the Clery Act binder.”
By contrast, the Parthenon’s account of an interview with the Gazette reporter suggests the Charleston reporter viewed a report not seen by student journalists:
“Charleston Gazette reporter Zac Taylor said he acquired the report from a crime log he was able to obtain from the Marshall University Police Department. The police log is police information, and it's public," Taylor said. "Whenever somebody reports a crime, police have to put that information in a public crime log. That's where I validated my information. Taylor said he asked the Marshall University Police Department for the crime log and was given a binder with information about the sexual assault report.”
REDACTED REPORT REVEALS HOSPITAL TREATMENT
The Gazette reporter who had seen the initial report in which officers were dispatched to a freshman dormitory on an apparent sexual assault call involving four men assaulting a woman and a man, wrote that on Saturday, October 9, the Charleston Gazette indicated the university released a redacted police report. The report stated that the alleged victims were taken to Cabell Huntington Hospital on Sept. 12 for treatment.
(Editor’s Note: The results of treatment would be confidential; however, the police could be advised of the results, which would be evidence in the case.)
Public Safety Director Terry in an October 7 statement had said, “Based upon the extensive interviews and lack of physical evidence, we have concluded there is insufficient evidence to pursue any charges relating to the alleged sexual assault or to substantiate that such an assault even occurred.”
The investigation, Terry said, led to the MUPD obtaining the warrants for the former student’s arrest on the misdemeanor charge of filing a false police report.
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False Police Report Warrant Issued in Marshall University Alleged Sexual Assault Incident
Delays in Release of Details Questioned
By Tony Rutherford
Huntingtonnews.net Reporter
Huntington, WV (HNN) - The Marshall University Police Department obtained two misdemeanor warrants Friday , Oct. 8, for the arrest of a former student, charging him with filing a false report of an emergency and obstruction to the MUPD on Sept. 12, 2010, said James E. Terry, MU’s Director of Public Safety.
In the report, the student accused three males of sexual assault of a female and a male in a freshman residence hall on the Huntington campus.
However, the delay in releasing information on the incident will apparently be scrutinized by the U.S. Department of Education, which administers the Clery Act. This law requires colleges and universities receiving federal aid to quickly disclose criminal incidents on campus. A handbook on the regulations appear to , in the interest of public safety, require disclosure of many uninvestigated reports. But, the handbook contains exceptions to early release. It’s unclear whether the circumstances described by Marshall officials trigger the exceptions.
Marshall University’s Department of Public Safety on line crime statistics from 2005-2008 list two forcible rapes ( 2005 and 2008) in resident halls and no non-forcible rapes having occurred. The statistics apply to on campus venues, public property and non-campus buildings on university property. The report does not have categories for simple assault, battery or sexual assault. The report lists zero aggravated assault and hate crimes.
On Friday, October 8, The Parthenon published an article that stated the Department of Public Safety has been keeping two sets of police incident reports. The university newspaper publishes periodic police blotter stories, which are public record. The publication stated:
“The Parthenon staffer returned to the department later and spoke to MUPD officer Randy Layne, who refused to provide the crime log binder but provided the staffer with the Clery Act binder. Layne told the staffer that Terry instructed all officers to only allow access to information covered under the Clery Act. The Parthenon had been unable to obtain any information on the allegations, despite a story published by the Charleston Gazette on Thursday that a report of sexual assault was obtained from the Marshall University Police Department's crime log. A Parthenon reporter who asked to review the crime log on multiple occasions during the semester was not given the Clery Act binder.”
By contrast, the Parthenon’s account of an interview with the Gazette reporter suggests the Charleston reporter viewed a report not seen by student journalists:
“Charleston Gazette reporter Zac Taylor said he acquired the report from a crime log he was able to obtain from the Marshall University Police Department. The police log is police information, and it's public," Taylor said. "Whenever somebody reports a crime, police have to put that information in a public crime log. That's where I validated my information. Taylor said he asked the Marshall University Police Department for the crime log and was given a binder with information about the sexual assault report.”
REDACTED REPORT REVEALS HOSPITAL TREATMENT
The Gazette reporter who had seen the initial report in which officers were dispatched to a freshman dormitory on an apparent sexual assault call involving four men assaulting a woman and a man, wrote that on Saturday, October 9, the Charleston Gazette indicated the university released a redacted police report. The report stated that the alleged victims were taken to Cabell Huntington Hospital on Sept. 12 for treatment.
(Editor’s Note: The results of treatment would be confidential; however, the police could be advised of the results, which would be evidence in the case.)
Public Safety Director Terry in an October 7 statement had said, “Based upon the extensive interviews and lack of physical evidence, we have concluded there is insufficient evidence to pursue any charges relating to the alleged sexual assault or to substantiate that such an assault even occurred.”
The investigation, Terry said, led to the MUPD obtaining the warrants for the former student’s arrest on the misdemeanor charge of filing a false police report.
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