Police: Student involved in assault
By Jessica Spradling, The Dartmouth Staff
Published on Tuesday, November 19, 2002
Hanover Police announced yesterday that a male Dartmouth student has been identified as a "party with involvement" in the reported sexual assault that happened at The Tabard coed fraternity in the early hours of Nov. 9.
Since no criminal charges have been filed, police would not release the student's name. Hanover Police Chief Nicholas Giaccone also would not comment on whether an arrest was immanent in the case.
Giaccone said that officers determined the student's identity through extensive interviews with other Dartmouth students present on the night in question.
Giaccone would not say whether the original description released the day after the assault matched the young man in question. He also could not say whether the young man was a suspected assailant or merely an accomplice, or even how long he had been at Tabard on that Friday the day before.
Senior Associate Dean of the College Dan Nelson said that it is not necessary for criminal charges to be filed for a student to undergo the College disciplinary process in cases of sexual assault.
Giaccone said that police are still conducting interviews, but the focus of the investigation is now on forensic evidence that Hanover Police had collected from the crime scene. However, he would not reveal any further information about that evidence.
Nelson said that the Hanover Police had not revealed to the College either the name of the suspected student or any other information about the case not already made public.
According to statistics provided by Safety and Security there were four "sexual offenses" in 2001 and two in both 2000 and 1999. In the annual report from the Committee on Standards for 2001-2002, the four "sexual offenses" were described as cases of sexual harassment, ones that "did not include intercourse."
These numbers, however, reflect only cases reported directly to the College. Many cases of sexual abuse go unreported, or are reported to other campus bodies -- such as the Sexual Abuse Awareness Program -- without a formal charge being filed. For the academic year 2001-2002, 15 rapes were reported to SAAP, and 14 in for the academic year 2000-2001.
In a prepared statement, Tabard President Cena Maxfield '03 said administrators and police have been supportive of the victim and house members since the assault. She declined requests for further comment.