Harrington/Love Murders AT UVA: Sorority Rape Misses Radar To Alert Students
Charlottesville, VA- Sallie Hamilton, the original owner of the Hamilton House on Chancellor Ave., was ahead of her time when she chose Charlottesville to build her boarding house.
Recently divorced and the mother of two young sons, she was one of five single women from 1900 to 1910 to build and operate boarding houses to accommodate students of the University of Virginia as a means of income and support for her family.
The Chancellor Street address abutted the newly established and exclusive Fraternity Row on Madison Lane and was directly across from the central grounds. The Delta Zeta Sorority purchased it in 1979.
In the early morning hours of September 17th, 2010, it was also the scene of the latest rape of a UVA student and DZ sorority sister.
September 17th, 2010 also happens to have been the first full day of a 10 day memorial to Yeardley Love, the lacrosse player who was brutally murdered in May.
The columns of the Rotunda were draped in black just hours before the vicious rape and assault in the backyard of the sorority house, an assault that the young woman has very little memory of.
Coincidentally, Yeardley Love was a sister at Kappa Alpha Theta, whose sorority, Saunders House, resides at 127 Chancellor Street.
A “stones throw away” you might say.
Eleven days earlier, a meeting between the parents of Virginia Tech Junior Morgan Harrington and UVA President Teresa Sullivan regarding safety on campus, was productive.
Morgan disappeared from the grounds of John Paul Jones Arena last October and was later found murdered in January after months of searching for her. According to her mother Gil, Morgan was also raped and beaten.
Blinkoncrime.com was alerted to the attack at DZ House by concerned parents of UVA students when they did not receive an email alert from either UVA PD or Charlottesville PD as they have in the past, after they were informed of the incident directly.
For several hours following the attack, police actually detained associates of the sororities within the property at the time of the incident,as well as those arriving home while Charlottesville Police were conducting interviews.
After a previous sexual assault on July 19th, 2010, students, faculty, and parents received this email within 24 hours of the attack:
To members of the University community:
The Charlottesville Police Department responded to a report of a sexual assault that occurred on Roosevelt Brown Blvd at 11:30 p.m. on Monday July 19, 2010.
The victim, a University of Virginia student, reported being approached from behind and was pushed into some bushes along the sidewalk as she was walking on Roosevelt Brown Blvd. After a brief struggle, the assailant fled on foot in the direction of West Main Street.
The suspect is described as a Hispanic male in his early thirties. He is approximately five foot seven inches tall and weighs approximately 150 to 160 pounds.
Anyone having information related to this incident should call the Charlottesville Police at 434-970-3280 or Crime Stoppers at 434-977-4000.
Please use all of the resources that are provided to you as a member of the University community. If you are interested in learning more about what resources are available, including safety seminars and self-defense classes, visit our Resources web site.
A few key things to remember:
- Trust your instincts about a person or situation. If you feel uncomfortable, immediately report your concerns to police by calling 911.
- If you find yourself in a similar situation, turn over material belongings to the suspect and focus on his or her physical characteristics, i.e. clothing description, height and weight and last known direction of travel.
- Be aware of your surroundings. Do not let a cell phone conversation or listening to music distract you when walking or in a situation that calls for your full attention.
- Avoid isolated areas when walking alone at night. Use SafeRide (434-242-1122), walk with friends, or take the late-night weekend bus.
- Report suspicious activity or people immediately by calling 911.
The University of Virginia Police Department would like to remind you of several resources that are available if you believe you, or a friend, has been a victim of sexual assault. Sources of support available include the Office of the Dean of Students, the Women’s Center, Counseling and Psychological Services in Student Health, Charlottesville’s Sexual Assault Resource Agency (SARA), and the Victim and Witness Assistance Programs for the city of Charlottesville and Albemarle County. Students wishing to pursue disciplinary action through the University can do so through the University’s Sexual Assault Board. For more information about the Sexual Assault Board, contact the Office of Dean of Students or by phone at 434-924-7133. Students are eligible to receive support through any of these channels regardless of whether they elect to pursue criminal, civil, or administrative remedies through the University.
Michael Gibson Chief of Police
Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer Sandridge approved distribution of this message.
Apparently, the concern for safety is shared after 2 shooting incidents occurred in the vicinity this past weekend, as addressed by Lt. Melisa Fielding, UVA PD:
“Safety is really a shared responsibility,” said Lt. Melisa Fielding of the UVA Police Department. ”You can’t put enough police out there to prevent all incidents.”
UVA police say that means getting the entire corner community on deck with keeping the nightlife area safe.
“Over the last year there have been enough incidents in this area to make one question how safe the community is,” Fielding stated.
On September 24, UVA held a Day of Dialogue: Toward a Caring Community.
The University’s new president, Teresa Sullivan, says this is a day of healing and of frank discussions about ways to prevent violence.
Frankly, I would like to discuss how after 3 known attacks, one resulting in a sexual assault after two attempts in the same evening in July, a rape and beating occurring at a UVA sorority is not worthy of an alert to students, faculty or parents?
One would think the start of preventing of such violence would be acknowledgment it exists, even when it happens “on grounds”.
Blinkoncrime.com was able to reach Carol Wood this evening, Office of Public Affairs UVA, while traveling for business:
..” I am out of town on business and have not heard of such incident but will look into it..”
Madeline Tanner, copy editor and contributing editor to this report.
Elizabeth Morton, contributing editor to this report.
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I read this article last night, and then just had to put aside the computer, take 4 Advil, and go to sleep. I simply could not cope.
My 83-lb 12-year-old, based upon what she has already seen of the world, has declared that she will never drink alcohol–at all. We are Catholic, and she has given up the wine at church. She has also started on a determined path to be a “secret black belt” in self-defense martial arts. She doesn’t want anyone to know that, because she is concerned that it would invite a test.
I wish I could think her efforts will protect her, but I cannot.
The euphemisms in the UVA language are abhorrent. Rape is not an allowable word, the victims could have prevented the success of the attacks, and lo-and-behold, bad things only happen when your shoestrings drift off grounds.
Can’t they hear Morgan screaming in their ears? If not, their souls are dead.
lizzy
Let me paraphrase, to protect the identity of the student an email I received-
“My child sleeps with their head nearly abutting a statue of Thomas Jefferson. If they fell out of bed and rolled out the window, they would be considered “off grounds”. Give Me a Break!
To me, that says it all.
B
Detour thoughts on hiding behind the FERPA shrub:
FERPA changed the rules regarding informing parents of rules violations (as opposed to academics) about a decade ago. The lag has been in the universities effectively implementing the programs required to take advantage of that. FERPA now ALLOWS but does not require parental notification in many situations. But to take that on requires more administration, counseling services, judicial procedures, etc., on the part of the universities. It also places the decisions to do so potentially under other confidentiality laws, depending upon the age of the minor, their IRS status as a dependent, etc. Bottom line: too much work and too much risk.
Which universities are taking steps to move forward with this. As far as I can tell, those who agreed to do so as part of avoiding/settling other lawsuits based upon NOT having done so.
I am being told that the email alert went to students only. No parents, and no faculty or staff.
Unless they have a suspect or made an arrest, someone is going to need to explain that to me.
B
Being in Richmond, I read the papers daily, at least online, and when I saw this, it set off bells right away. Interesting how this “gentleman” (and I use the term loosley) could be described as white and/or hispanic, and even bi-racial if you think about it. He’s a very chameleon-like P.O.S…….
“I wonder if this guy has been looked at?
http://www.nbc29.com/story/13198947/police-searching-for-sexual-assault-suspect?redirected=true
B “
Starbucks, great post on September 29, 2010 at 11:59 am
It’s good to see their responsibilities under the law.
Perhaps since the laws all mention “campus” and UVA clearly only admits to having “grounds”, that they are exempt from such things.
For anyone interested, a brief summary of current FERPA guidelines is at http://www.naspa.org/divctr/pp/ferpa.cfm The Department of Higher Education made the rules changes in July 2000.
We have a new football coach, an extremely smart, handsome man, former Richmond cop. Loved by all. Can he make a service announcement to the community? Some sort of plea? Tell everyone that this s__t has got to stop? The ACC coaches always do a joint announcement about sportsmanship…maybe coaches everywhere can make a joint public announcement about safety on and around college campuses. Let students know that they’re not invincible, not in the real world.
The UVA Facebook page has 33,508 fans. Perhaps they would like the link to the announcement posted this morning?
They haven’t tweeted it for their 4849 Twitter followers either, although they did tweet out (at about 4 a.m. this morning) the link to the videos from the Day of Dialogue.
Not posted on the UVA police page as an announcement or important information.
Certainly not sent out as a text alert.
Blink indicates they didn’t send it to faculty, so no valuble class time would be wasted warning students. They didn’t e-mail parents (some of whom are dinosaurs who still actually read e-mails) so they can’t warn their students.
I will acknowledge that there is now a link to the “recent safety concerns” on the header of the UVA homepage. However, if their students are much like those I know, they don’t frequent that home page. And the warning link or message does not appear on their customizable web portal for current students.
Yes, it certainly looks like UVA is working very, very hard to warn their women students.
“… What we have here, is a failure to communicate..”
Cool Hand Luke
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This is a snip-it from NBC29.com
UVA Issues Warning Following Recent Assaults
Posted: Sep 29, 2010 10:49 AM EDT
Updated: Sep 29, 2010 11:46 AM EDT
The University of Virginia has sent an e-mail to students warning them about three recent assaults that happened just off grounds. These are the incidents reported:
Friday September 17 around 1:15 a.m. – “A female student was sexually assaulted near Chancellor Street as she walked toward her residence. An unidentified white male knocked her to the ground and assaulted her.”
September 18 around 1:30 a.m. – “A student reported being punched in the neck and knocked to the ground on Chancellor Street near the Bank of America branch. An African-American male, approximately 5 feet 10 inches tall, jumped from a Ford SUV and punched the victim as he was walking home. It is believed that the attack was motivated by the student victim’s sexual orientation.”
September 19 around midnight – “A female student reported, through a third party, that she was inside an unidentified fraternity house when she was pushed into the pantry by an unidentified white male. Two friends heard her screams and opened the pantry door. The suspect fled the house on foot. He is described as a white male between the ages of 18 and 20, approximately 5 feet 11 inches tall, 180 pounds, with medium-length light brown hair. At the time of the incident he was wearing a T-shirt and khaki shorts.”
Here is the text of the email:
From: Allen W. Groves, Associate Vice President and Dean of Students
Sent: Tuesday, September 28, 2010 10:59 PM
To: All Students
Subject: Recent Safety Concerns: Please Read
Dear Students:
I am writing to inform you of three disturbing incidents that have occurred recently near the Grounds. Because of the circumstances, information was not available earlier to share with you, but I believe it is important that you are aware of these incidents so you can take steps to protect yourself and those around you.
All three incidents occurred off Grounds. In two of the incidents, both involving female students, it is possible that the perpetrator is the same.
Based on the description in each of these two cases, police have reason to believe that the perpetrator (or perpetrators) blends in well with the student community. It is also possible that he was lurking in each area before the attacks, observing potential victims.
In the first incident, a University of Virginia student was sexually assaulted near Chancellor Street on Sept. 17 at approximately 1:15 a.m. as she walked toward her residence. An unidentified white male knocked her to the ground and assaulted her. The Charlottesville Police Department is investigating.
In the second incident, a University of Virginia student reported, through a third party, that she was inside an unidentified fraternity house shortly after midnight on Sept. 19 when she was pushed into the pantry by an unidentified white male. Two friends heard her screams and opened the pantry door. The suspect fled the house on foot. He is described as a white male between the ages of 18 and 20, approximately 5 feet 11 inches tall, 180 pounds, with medium-length light brown hair. At the time of the incident he was wearing a T-shirt and khaki shorts.
In the third incident, a student was punched in the neck and knocked to the ground at approximately 1:30 a.m. on Sept. 18 on Chancellor Street next to the Bank of America branch building. An African-American male, approximately 5 feet 10 inches tall, jumped from a Ford SUV and punched the victim as he was walking home. It is believed that the attack was motivated by the student victim’s sexual orientation.
In the two incidents involving young women, police are suspicious that the perpetrator may have been waiting and watching for an opportune time to attack.
As a reminder, it is important to pay attention to your surroundings. If you see someone acting suspiciously or whose behavior raises concern with you (observing others from the shadows, looking into windows), then do not hesitate to call 911. The police want you to call so they can check out the situation. You do not need to be facing a dire emergency to call 911. Take mental notes (what the person was wearing, exactly where you saw the person, the direction traveling) to help the police as much as possible.
Students can become targets for those who want to do harm. Perpetrators often come to areas frequented by students, especially in the late-night hours, looking for young people who are enjoying themselves and have let their guards d own. As part of staying safe, please monitor your intake of alcohol, and please watch out for your friends who have been drinking. Do not leave them alone.
If you have any information on the incidents described here, please do not hesitate to call the Charlottesville Police at 434-970-3280 or Crimestoppers at 434-977-4000.
Sincerely,
Allen W. Groves
Associate Vice President and Dean of Students
Vice President and Chief Student Affairs Officer Lampkin approved distribution of this message.
NBC12 in Richmond has picked up the story now…
http://www.nbc12.com/Global/story.asp?S=13237321
Yes, that UVA alerted students after assaults.
That is just plain lazy reporting.
B
You all are right, if I’m a parent of a UVA student and I see this on my local news rather than hear it from UVA, it would piss me off.
Can you imagine?
Who does not get what tuition costs alone are there?
I don’t care how much money one has, every person was hit from the recession making our 401k’s into 301k’s and not being paid the courtesy as a parent to know if the potential exists for our children to be violently assaulted is inexcusable. You think some of those parents may wish to know the definition of “off grounds” as it relates to their kids safety and the expectation of same?
It is semantics, it is compromising, and it is negligence. Flat out negligence.
I have a question? Does the time lapse between when the assault occurred and the release of the UVA statement violate the Clery Act?
Under the Clery Act….schools must make timely warnings to the campus community about crimes that pose an ongoing threat to students and employees.
Would we consider this timely? Me personally, no.
If so, it wouldn’t be the first time UVA violated the Clery Act?
http://www.uvavictimsofrape.com/Clery%20Act%20Violation.htm
To send our children to college carries a high price tag, particularly at a school like UVA. But, we do so for the better our children’s life’s and futures.
They take our money. It is their RESPONSIBILITY to protect our children while they are enrolled in their school trying to build a future for themselves. Something Morgan will never have, might I add.
This is a complete and utter disgrace!
I have a son who is a freshman in college this year and one who will be entering college next year. This sickens me!
Last comment, that frat house is in the same vicinity of the possible 3 AM sighting of Morgan, is it not?
Regardless, they were found to have violated the Clery Act in 2005:
http://www.uvavictimsofrape.com/images/Clery_Act_Ruling.pdf
Yes, looks that way to me.
B
Blink, as a victim of college rape myself I saw first hand how ugly it can get. I was raped by an athlete so in so many words I was told to pack my bags or shut up. The incident happened my first weekend in college, 6+ hours away from my parents, and no one…I mean no one from the college helped. I had to find my own way home from the hospital and I was never offered even one ounce of counseling. When the local media caught on it became even worse. Too long of a story.
Regretfully, I kept quiet. I had worked so hard to be there, and I didn’t want to be known as the girl on campus who had been raped. Everyone knew who did it since it happened at a party, so he paid a “social price.” Still the 30-year-old fighter in me says “that’s not enough.” Very different from the timid wide-eyed 18-year-old at her first party in college. We need those 30+-year-old fighters in place at our Universities to guide these victims. Give them options instead of ultimatums.
How do we fix this? Why does an 18 year old girl who has been victimized by a rapist get victimized a second time by their University? I don’t know which one stung more. Are reputations worth this much? In the end, time will reveal the truth. I would think UVA would realize this by now.
They don’t deserve the shit storm that has happened, but until they change some of their procedures and start owning up to the fact that they have a major problem on campus, nothing will get better for them. IT WILL only worse. I don’t think this is rock bottom. I think this is only the beginning. It isn’t even Oct.
Your email just broke my heart. I am so sorry that happened to you. I cant imagine the bravery it takes to tell that to others and for that we thank you.
I would only disagree that they don’t deserve the “shitstorm”. It is overdue in my opinion. They are an educational Institution of Higher Learning. Not their own country.
My children are not of college age yet, no person, no school, no anyone or anything has the right to make decisions that could compromise the safety of my child, in a vaccum.
That is why they are REQUIRED to make the disclosures and alerts that they are under the law.
Who is in the office? Tony Montagna or the esteemed Dr. Sullivan?
I sincerely hope she comes out blazing like him, but transparency is part of the responsibility.
B
@ Little Old Me, I agree that drinking does make young people more vulnerable to attacks and, thus, one tactic of the university in addressing safety issues needs to be educating students about the dangers of alcohol.
But alcohol isn’t the only contributing factor. Little Old Me also mentioned the dangers of walking alone. When I read about these incidents, it sends chills down my spine to remember the times while I was in college I walked across campus alone at night. I wasn’t a drinker/partyer, but there are many other events on campus – or off – including just a visit with friends, that could expose a student to unforeseen dangers. The “buddy system” is the first line of defense.
Some of the campuses I attended had programs in place in response to incidents on campus or in the neighborhood, or to prevent such incidents. One large university provided a campus “taxi” service available for students, particularly women, so they wouldn’t need to walk home alone at night. The telephone number was posted throughout campus. A small private college I attended scheduled a self-defense class for students. College/university administrators should be working with student groups to arrange these type of programs.
Considering the advancements in technology available today, administrators need to take advantage and alert the student body whenever a threat is present. Had UVA officials alerted students to the earlier assault on July 19, perhaps the rape later that night would never have occurred.
On OR off campus, Clery Acts STILL requires them to report it if falling under the below guidelines…
Another limitation of the Clery Act: it counts only those crimes occurring on or near campuses, and in school-affiliated buildings like fraternity houses.
http://www.publicintegrity.org/investigations/campus_assault/articles/entry/1841/
Also…
There is an additional geographic location that applies
exclusively to the crime log. In addition to recording
reported crimes that occurred on campus, in or on
noncampus buildings or property, or on public property
within the campus or immediately adjacent to and
accessible from the campus, reports of crimes that
occurred within the patrol jurisdiction of the campus
police or security department are also entered into the
crime log.
http://www2.ed.gov/admins/lead/safety/handbook-part-2.pdf
Re: Clery Act
They have two business days to get the information in their crime log.
The penalties for Clery Act violations need to be increased to get the attention of the Universities.
(4)
(A) Each institution participating in any program under this subchapter and part C of subchapter I of chapter 34 of title 42, other than a foreign institution of higher education, that maintains a police or security department of any kind shall make, keep, and maintain a daily log, written in a form that can be easily understood, recording all crimes reported to such police or security department, including—
(i) the nature, date, time, and general location of each crime; and
(ii) the disposition of the complaint, if known.
(B)
(i) All entries that are required pursuant to this paragraph shall, except where disclosure of such information is prohibited by law or such disclosure would jeopardize the confidentiality of the victim, be ***********open to public inspection within two business days of the initial report being made to the department or a campus security authority.***************
(ii) If new information about an entry into a log becomes available to a police or security department, then the new information shall be recorded in the log **************not later than two business days after the information becomes available to the police or security department.**************
I don’t suggest the press conf video to you then. Disparity and a Full cut bikini bottom if you catch my drift. Full coverage if you don’t.
B
Newsplex online…sorry if this has already been posted:
http://www.newsplex.com/home/headlines/104000154.html
@Daisygirl –
I could have written your post almost word-for-word, except that I did not keep quiet and did become known as The Girl on Campus Who Was Raped. Perp was first-string basketball player; university law enforcement (and I use that term loosely) quite literally told me that I should just drop the charges. It was horrible – my father drove hundreds of miles multiple times to meet with the university’s director of campus safety for updates, only to be told that she “didn’t have time” that day to meet with him; the acting president actually told my father that if I hadn’t been drinking at the time of the crime, none of it would have happened. This to a man who was breaking his back to work to send his only daughter to a “good school.”
Long story short, the case went to grand jury but did not return with a true bill, which my own attorney had already informed me would be the case because of the players behind the scenes (and in spite of clear rape kit results from the exam I obtained an hour after the incident, etc). Anyway, the local media had a heyday. I had a nervous breakdown. But there is a silver lining: someone somehow got wind of my story, and lo and behold, it had happened to her, too. Eventually, the NYT sent a reporter out to campus to interview myself and a few other female students who’d gone through nearly identical scenarios. Her article exposed a lot of the crap that various universities were spewing forth about FERPA (and to others’ points upthread, this was back in the mid-90s before FERPA laws were tweaked) and nonreporting of crime on campus. You can probably Google “rape and Miami University of Ohio” today and find the piece. I have no desire to do so at this point, myself. I’ll tell you something, though: for me, the second ‘violation’ that occurred when I realized that the very institution charged with protecting me wanted nothing more than for me to shut up was way worse than the rape itself. Unequivocally worse.
Whew. I didn’t expect to write all that. I just wanted you to know that you are by no means alone. The very fact that there are two of us outing ourselves on BOC as college rape survivors (and both perp’d by athletes, no less) who were then violated yet again by the institutions that were supposed to watch over us us makes the point of this entire thread.
Thanks again, Blink and Blinksters, for all you do.
I needed a minute after I read this. I heart your dad, and Your an amazing lady.
The courage and strength of those of you who have endured and risen above is truly humbling to me.
For me, it made my heart sink deeper after that press conf.
Dr. Sullivan owed it to the school, community and parents to do the right thing today, and imo, did not.
You would think an institution so well known for it’s educational credentials would stop treating everyone like they are babboons in a cage, without access to PUBLIC RECORDS.
It is embarassing.
B
Who wanders around, on Grounds or off, alone late at night, after going out?
The same people who attract those who want to harm or rob people.
We ride cabs for free here and we have a safe ride hotline. People need to use them both and stop providing opportunities.
I don’t think we know of anyone wandering around. She could have simply been crossing the street from parking her car. However, I do agree nobody should be alone in that situation whatsoever.
The second attempted attack, which by the way, was a sexual attack in nature, occurred inside a party with many people around.
This guy is a predator, and I suspect a frat member, thus the bureaocratic claptrap we heard this afternoon.
B
Did anyone else see the press conference?
Groves claims they didn’t release any info because they did not have “direct information.” How many times did he say “direct information”? Is that a buzzword to get out of the Clery Act? Instead of “direct information,” they just had a lot of parental-student-dean-professor calls/emails. He says they still have not spoken to the victim of the first attack. That was supposed to happen yesterday but did not; nonetheless, he says he decided last night that they had enough info to make an announcement. (Snark: Not that Blink got in touch with Carol Wood and forced them to do something.)
Even if I believed his spin, I would have expected an alert that said, “We have as yet unconfirmed but plausible reports of a sexual assault on 9/17, and the Charlottesville Police are investigating. These reports require that we advise and remind you … and so on.”
He also says that Charlottesville PD have not even classified it as a sexual assault and they did not even learn of it until the 21st? (Maybe he said the 20th.) WHAT?! People, the CPD crime log is PUBLIC.
Here ya go:
http://spotcrime.com/crime/12623166-a4fb526758952ed2c32d6f9598cbca9d
The Charlottesville PD calls it “Sex offense — FORCIBLE RAPE.” Dated 9/17, although that does not specify when they heard about it. But they have it clearly classified as rape.
My heart goes out to all UVa parents and students right now.
Blink, it is apparent that had you not brought this story to the forefront, it would have never been released.
Send a student alert immediatley! If that had been done after the pantry attack, with a description of the attacker, resulting in that attacker being identified and obtained, we would all be singing a different tune about the actions of UVA.
UVA has thousands of eyes and ears in their student body. Utilize them!
Judi, The 3 a.m. sighting by the paper deliverer was on grounds, on the lawn (I believe the East Lawn.) This area, to the best of my knowledge. is comprised of individual student rooms and professor/administrator housing rather than fraternities and dormitories. I could be wrong, but I believe the fraternity house is probably closer to the apartment where Yeardley Love was killed and also within a couple of blocks of the apartment complex where Morgan’s shirt was discovered. Just my guess because that is the area where many of the larger fraternity and sorority houses are located. I can’t pinpoint the house pictured with this article, but the style of architecture appears to fit in with the Rugby Road/Grady Avenue area.
I’m also concerned that these incidents could be connected to the male who invited a 14 year-old girl into his vehicle Monday as she walked to middle school. We can warn our college students to watch their alcohol intake, never walk alone, use the buddy system, lock your doors, etc. etc., but what do we say to a child who has to worry about walking to school in broad daylight in her own neighborhood? I hope University students will take this situation seriously and look out for each other. Hopefully our public school parents will also recognize a possible danger and come together in their neighborhoods to arrange for their children to walk in groups or form a safety net of at-home parents who will be able to keep an eye out as children walk to and from schools.
The sorority house pictured is not as close to the Rugby Avenue area as I thought. Probably, it would be just about equal distance to the lawn area and Rugby/Grady/15th Street area, maybe even closer to the lawn. Regardless, not a huge distance from either location.
41.anotherB says:
September 29, 2010 at 11:58 am
Thought about it again – they were assaulted on the premises of a shared student house – he actually hid in their house/back yard. This is extremely risky. He acts as if he had nothing to lose.
—————-
I don’t think he is hiding. I think he is mingling, watching, waiting, and when he sees a woman by herself, he quietly slips away from the crowd and makes his move.
How did he get into the house and attack this woman and no one recognize him? Is he a stranger? A friend of a friend? Someone who came to the party but really wasn’t invited? Did someone invite him but knew he wouldn’t really fit in? Is he one of these guys who wants to be recognized, to be liked, but is just peculiar enough that girls don’t find him attractive? Is there something just slightly off that makes girls pass by him without a second glance? Does this anger him? Does he want to make these girls pay for not giving him the time of day?
The NBC29 TV news report at 5:00 was that the student on the 17th may have been assaulted but she can’t say for sure because she was impaired. Is this bad reporting on the part of NBC29? It so, it appears to be very bad reporting. There seems to be little doubt from the e-mail warning and the NBC29 online story that an assault did occur. The online story does not include the video of the 5:00 report. The story will be repeated probably 2 more times by 6:30, with a change of anchor at 6:00. It will be interesting to see if the story changes to more closely match their on-line reporting during the next 2 segments.
Blink, FYI- I have a new e-mail address; someone is evidently using my former account
Good for you for bringing this to light. I think I checked on here last night and saw this write-up not long after it was posted and was wondering why I had not seen ANYTHING on newsplex.com. I’m shocked to say the least and I was LOL when I saw you being credited with the story, although it is really saddening- and maddening- to see it takes someone who is approximately 200 miles away to break a news story of this magnitude to local residents.
When I saw what you wrote and had not seen any coverage elsewhere, the first question that came to mind was: are Greek residences technically on university property (I bet you if there was a property issue that they felt required their intervention, they would certainly invoke property seizure or condemnation clauses to intervene)? There truly is a trend here regarding UVA’s invocation of property and its liability in such matters. It is reprehensible that UVA is going to potentially put other students and citizens in harms way by not disclosing a violent attack like this for ten days!
I’m glad that there are people like you to expose such wrongdoings.
Yes, for all we know this young female was returning from a job, a late night study session at the library or just a quick jaunt out to her car to get a personal item. For all we know she was with someone who got inside before she did. This is ridiculous to even suggest that women can’t go anywhere alone. Even while I say that, I fear it is becoming the truth!
It makes no difference where she had been or what she was doing. Even the Alert suggest that this suspect attacked her from behind and dragged her to where he RAPED her…she was not merely “Assaulted” as the memo suggests.
Many of us have daughters and yes, even though there are “safety escorts” and “student safety buses or taxis,” the wait time is often a good 1/2 hour to 40 minutes. Many kids just wait till they see a group of students walking in the direction that they are going and hope to be seen as in a group and not walkiing alone.
I can’t tell you how many times I touched based with my student who was often left to walk at least one or two blocks alone. It was terrifying and each night that this occurred she was meant to call me as she left the building and immediately upon getting inside. She had pepper spray a personal alarm and a cell phone set to 911…all she had to do was press the call button.
I know this sounds over protective but this was Richmond, VA 2004-2008. Several students were robbed,raped and or murdered in those four years and since. I only stopped my daily reading of the Richmond crime reports and having her check in when she moved in with her best friend…a 6′ 2′, 200+ pound 24 year old male.
Here’s the news conference so you all can see what I described:
http://www.newsplex.com/video?clipID=5153576&autoStart=true&contentID=104000154
Did I miss a link to the press conference video?
Am I reading this right? 10 days, including another weekend, and not a word of warning? Because they were trying to “find” the victims? Nothing?
Hmmph!
(had to self-edit the rest of my response)
http://www.newsplex.com/video?clipID=5153576&autoStart=true&contentID=104000154
This may seem harsh and it will certainly not win me any friends but people.
There is a war on women. We can no longer move about freely. Weather at UVA or in Town or in anyplace at all.
Personal Responsibility has to be our war cry.
If you expect a university to send warnings and then complain that you did not get one. Well here’s a big shout. It’s a war zone out there. You need to watch your back or you might become another casualty. You need to talk to your daughters and scare them to death.
Do young women really believe they can wander the streets at 1 am and not get attacked? If you make yourself a target you might become a victim.
Is this right? Of course not. Will they catch them? Probably not.
Don’t wait for more assults. Be your own best friend. Be safe.
Elizabeth…exactly.
The 6:00 report on NBC29 was a bit clearer. The Charlottesville spokesperson said the young woman who was attacked on the 17th was “impaired” and could provide little detail. Taking that to mean that LE knows there was an attack but that probably the young woman could not provide enough detail to know exactly what happened.
Clarification on my part, the Charlottesville spokesperson was not on camera, what he said was being reported by the anchor.
Why wasn’t the name of the fraternity and location of the fraternity house given in the case of the attempted assault where the attacker ran away? And why the “he may fit in to the college scene” nonsense. How about he may or may not be a UVa student? Not to worry, though, sexually assaulting coeds (or beating them to death) is not against the Honor Code.
Mark my words. The haste and scramble approach is going to backfire drastically in this situation.
B
As far as I can tell, UVA was clearly in violation of the Clery Act on the Sorority house rape because it was in fact a property that falls under the reporting rules and local LE responded as well as posted it as a Forcible RAPE. This was clearly a violation when they did not notify Students and THE UNIVERSITY COMMUNITY (to include faculty and staff) within the required 48 hour period allowed, as required under the Clery Act.
The same may also be true of the case of the male student who was punched. Under the stipulation that, it is being suggested, the attack had to do with the student’s sexual orientation; UVA again is required to alert the students, faculty and staff..
From what I can tell, the only incident that has a police report filed, is the 9/17/10 forcible rape.
I think it might be best for all if I just let y’all talk amongst yourself for the evening.
I do not seem to be able to think clearly through my seethe.
B
Now, the dean of students is probably the most bureaucratic person I have ever encountered. They get completely bogged down in their own directives, and they don’t seem to have any guidelines on how to proceed. How about picking up the phone and calling the sororities? There can’t be that many in C’ville, and I am pretty sure that they warned each other, so this would have been easy to find out.
And if they had a confirmation from the police that an assault occurred, and another, direct report about an assault, why wasn’t this sufficient reason to act, in particular if they had indirect knowledge about yet another assault?
This is going to get worse before it gets better.
Can anyone tell me why Charlottesville PD was not invited to a press conf concerning their case?
B
Elizabeth, women AND men have to learn that they are their own first line of defense. I don’t know whether or not the young woman from the 17th of September was impaired, I don’t know whether or not Morgan was impaired. I’m not saying I believe the current NBC29 report, I’m not saying I believe what others have speculated about Morgan’s condition on the night October 17th. All I’m saying is please, please young people, when you drink, and I know you will, do not carry it to the point that someone can take advantage of you. There are people out there in every town, in every city, and in every country side just waiting for the right opportunity. Always try to remain in control of your own situation. Having friends you can rely on is a wonderful thing, but some night, they could not be there, or they could let you down. If you ever wake up one morning and realize you don’t know what happened the night before, don’t know how you got home, but you’re okay, please realize that you could have just had the luckiest night of your life. Will maintaining control always guarantee your safety? Sadly, the answer is no. Sometimes a person can do everything right and still become a victim of violence. Your chances are just so much better that you will disappoint the opportunist waiting for a victim by passing up that last drink or beer. Nothing I have said here assigns blame to any victim of an assault. I don’t care if you streak naked down West Main, no one has the right to take advantage of you or attack you, but if you don’t make that naked run, the guy waiting in the alley won’t have such an easy opportunity to grab you.
PS: I get the feeling they are overstaffed. Otherwise they wouldn’t have the time and energy to build up all these connections leading nowhere. Speaking with years of experience working with/against bureaucrats…
Lol, I needed that, thank you.
You can watch that press conference with the sound off and the takeaway would be the same.
How could you have that much staff and not have an effective PR Exec. Wow.
Here’s a clue- when starting a press conference to discuss sex assaults and overall bad stuff, don’t start with a joke. Not appropriate.
B
B
In that presser the Dean suggested that they were not certain that an assault of a sexual nature took place, on Sept 17th (Sorority House) but I saw with my own eyes the crime report from the Charlottesville PD re: Forcible Rape with the address and a google map…someone is LYING!!!!!!
Thats what they said 300 years ago, stay inside… is it that bad over there?
You know how I love UVa and my town, but it will be interesting to see how this plays out. Then we should start inspecting every other college and university…everyone here look in his or her own back yard, research the schools you attended. This is a universal problem that has to be dealth with everywhere. As Elizabeth says, women are in danger where ever they live…we have to learn how to protect ourselves and teach our daughters the same. I know that Dr. and Mrs. Harrington would agree, as they’ve said as much on several occasions.
Let me please re-state the end of my 7:59 post…I Think the Harringtons would agree…I can’t pull up the old statements and I don’t want to put words into their mouths.
19. In Memory of Gini says:
September 29, 2010 at 5:11 pm
How did he get into the house and attack this woman and no one recognize him? Is he a stranger? A friend of a friend? Someone who came to the party but really wasn’t invited? Did someone invite him but knew he wouldn’t really fit in?
———
I graduated from college a year and a half ago, I have been to my share of frat parties, I would “put my cheese” on this guy being a member of the fraternity. When a frat has a party, it is not an open party- well let me rephrase that- it is an open party to females, but you better believe that these guys are not going to let some guy walk in off the street to lower the chances of one of their “brothers” getting a girl. All the frats at my college actually had a member or group of members at the front doors monitoring who comes in. There might be a small (read, slim) chance that it could be a friend of a friend but with frat boys usually they’re a close group among themselves and I can’t really see friends of friends being there either.
The Female Spokesperson for the UVA PD said they work closely with the Charlottesville PD but apparently they aren’t sharing crime reports!
The opposite situation occurred in Richmond when Taylor Behl disappeared. The Richmond City Police were not notified by VCU PD until well after I personally called and emailed both the the VCU Police and the City of Richmond Police and asked why a Missing Persons Alert or a news release had not been issued. That was a Thursday evening at 8:30 PM. Taylor had been missing by that time for more than 48 hours. She was 17 years old.
I was 110 miles away, that Wednesday when I was called by a relative in another state asking me if I had heard about the missing VCU student. I kept checking the VCU Alerts and the Richmond Police Reports and saw nothing which is why I called/emailed both Departments. The VCU RAs were told not to notify the students until they were cleared by the University to do so…I know this first hand. Many of the students were informed via the news media at 10 PM that Thursday night…just an hour and a half after I called/emailed the two PDs.
Nothing has changed in Virginia Universities since Taylor’s disappearance and Murder, in September 2005. This makes me so angry. Seethe is the right word.
This is an interesting article, and I’m going to bet the problem is not exclusive to Texas. Unfortunately.
http://www.statesman.com/search/content/news/stories/local/2009/09/19/0919campuscrime.html
Blink has referred to a “forcible rape” but I gather, from having just watched the news conference that the Charlottesville Police Department are still investigating the first incident and have not yet classified it as a rape, at least according to Allen Groves. Has he misrepresented the facts, or is he correct that the Charlottesville Police Department has not yet made a determination about the facts?
I encourage both of the young women involved, for the safety of your fellow students, please take advantage of every opportunity available to you through the University and the Charlottesville Police Department. The University claims to have a lot of resources available for your use. These individuals were named in the press conference. If you talk to them and don’t feel you’re being listened to, go to the press. This has to be a difficult time, but silence will not bring an appropriate resolution to the two incidents.
I’ll put my money on the fact that all VA universities play by the same rules. Keep it under wraps until someone calls us on it. Maybe the girl just ran off, maybe the girl just got trashed and now doesn’t want to admit to wrong doing, maybe the girl put herself in harms way, maybe she was asking for it. I am sooooooooo sick of this BS!
I should add, these kinds of statements leave all of our women at risk. They are attacked and then they are somehow blamed for being attacked. Right now, I feel like vomiting.
The Charlottesville PD has the Chancellor Street incident listed as a “forcible rape” on their Crime View maps.
As far as the press conference, I still don’t get it. Is he saying that they wouldn’t have gone forward with this if there was not a sexual assault involved with the first incident? He said it seemed it might have only been a “stranger attack.” Did I hear right? Attacked from behind and bleeding from a stranger wouldn’t be worth a warning?
All that yapping out of his mouth to defend his actions. yap yap yap
If he only had that many words to say to advise students. yap yap yap
For MsL:
I tried posting this earlier and the post is gone, but here you are. It could not be more clear and Dean Grove’s words could not jibe less with the CPD’s:
http://spotcrime.com/crime/12623166-a4fb526758952ed2c32d6f9598cbca9d
“SEX OFFENSE – FORCIBLE RAPE” (caps theirs)
Thanks for the link acho.
Well I have to say, I wasn’t very impressed. Mucho back peddling and denial of whether an assault(s) had actually taken place. Yes Blink, there is no doubt in my mind there was no intention of reporting this to anyone had you not made that call. I would think one of the first inquiries they make is to find out which frat house the pantry assault occurred at, no? There also seemed to be blame placed on the young girl who cannot get her a*s in to talk to them already. HUH? Do they not have a crisis counselor to intervene and update the administration? Yes, if they do not get their acts together, this is going to be bad.
Clarification-
Charlottesville PD does not have jurisdiction unless the student notifies them? So at what point do the Univ. police get involved? I am just confused over who does what OFF GROUNDS.