2008 Woodie Awards
Alleged rape puts campus on alert
Thorough investigation finds little evidence to support victim's claim of abduction
Joe Wilbert
Issue date: 3/10/08 Section: News
For a second time, the campus is on alert for an alleged rape when students should be more worried about midterms.
A timely notice warning read that a female student was allegedly forced into a van at gun point and raped by three black males on Monday, Feb. 18 at 4:15 p.m.
An incident report said that after the student was kidnapped and raped, she was abandoned naked near her vehicle, and then the black males threw her clothes at her and drove off.
The Elyria Police Department(EPD) was informed of the supposed abduction and is working with Campus Security on the investigation.
"We are still investigating the incident," said Keith Brown, Interim Director of Security. "After reviewing several hours of video surveillance, nothing was found."
The EPD report of the incident read that the 39-year-old victim refused medical treatment and a rape kit, a standard set of tests to collect evidence.
The report also revealed the victim had ice cream and cold beverages in her car, and when officers inquired when she went to the store, she could not remember if it was before or after the incident.
No receipt was found.
Officers discovered that the female was a patient at the NORD center. The EPD report read they contacted the NORD center to conduct an evaluation on the victim, to which the caseworker determined she was not harmful to herself or others.
"We plan on meeting with the female next week to get a statement and go over the supposed incident in more detail," Brown said.
The EPD report said Officers asked the female if she was making this up, which she replied she was telling the truth and she had been raped before.
The report also said she did not want anything investigated and that her mother contacted EPD about the incident against her will.
Officers said no physical evidence was visible, and there was no information to assist in identifying suspects, or solving this case.
"We still want to encourage all campus community members to be vigilant and aware, and to report any suspicious activity immediately to Campus Security," Brown said. "The Security office will continue to strive to foster a learning environment that is safe, healthy, and secure for all of our campus community members."
A timely notice warning read that a female student was allegedly forced into a van at gun point and raped by three black males on Monday, Feb. 18 at 4:15 p.m.
An incident report said that after the student was kidnapped and raped, she was abandoned naked near her vehicle, and then the black males threw her clothes at her and drove off.
The Elyria Police Department(EPD) was informed of the supposed abduction and is working with Campus Security on the investigation.
"We are still investigating the incident," said Keith Brown, Interim Director of Security. "After reviewing several hours of video surveillance, nothing was found."
The EPD report of the incident read that the 39-year-old victim refused medical treatment and a rape kit, a standard set of tests to collect evidence.
The report also revealed the victim had ice cream and cold beverages in her car, and when officers inquired when she went to the store, she could not remember if it was before or after the incident.
No receipt was found.
Officers discovered that the female was a patient at the NORD center. The EPD report read they contacted the NORD center to conduct an evaluation on the victim, to which the caseworker determined she was not harmful to herself or others.
"We plan on meeting with the female next week to get a statement and go over the supposed incident in more detail," Brown said.
The EPD report said Officers asked the female if she was making this up, which she replied she was telling the truth and she had been raped before.
The report also said she did not want anything investigated and that her mother contacted EPD about the incident against her will.
Officers said no physical evidence was visible, and there was no information to assist in identifying suspects, or solving this case.
"We still want to encourage all campus community members to be vigilant and aware, and to report any suspicious activity immediately to Campus Security," Brown said. "The Security office will continue to strive to foster a learning environment that is safe, healthy, and secure for all of our campus community members."
Viewing Comments 1 - 2 of 4
Eye of Newt
posted 3/06/08 @ 10:47 PM EST
Hey, Joe, keep your opinion to yourself. This is supposed to be a newstory, not an editorial.
Copycat?
posted 3/26/08 @ 8:58 PM EST
In this saga about the campus alerts, there are several things missing from the coverage. First of all, what about the alleged victims' point of view? WAs there any attempt to find out who they were, what their version of the story is? Also, if these incidents never really happened, why are they making them up? And, is security crying wolf by putting out the timely notices so quickly, only to have to retract them when the investigation comes up with nothing? Finally, was the second incident a copycat occurence? Let's try to get a more complete story next time. (Continued…)
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