The Richmond Times-Dispatch released an analysis of forcible sex crimes at seven Virginia universities this week which found that no cases involving student-on-student assault resulted in criminal prosecution from 2008 through 2010.
In the 15 crimes reported at U. Virginia between those years, only two people were accused and convicted — neither of whom were students.
The Times-Dispatch analysis also showed that Virginia Tech was the only university to report it had expelled a student for sexual misconduct.
Claire Kaplan, director of Sexual and Domestic Violence Services a U. Va’s Women’s Center, confirmed the findings of the study, saying “it addresses some of the problems that prosecutors have.”
The study revealed that victims rarely pressed charges and if they did it was very hard to prove their allegations because of a lack of evidence.
“I’ve been in this office for more than 20 years and can count the number of criminal charges that were filed against U.Va. students for sexual assault on two hands,” Kaplan said.
Prosecution becomes particularly difficult when alcohol is involved, Kaplan added.
“The prosecutors have to figure out how to convince a jury that the victim’s account is reliable,” she said.
In compliance with a mandate from the U.S. Department of Education, the University’s Sexual Misconduct Policy was revised last July through a broadening of the definition of the term “sexual misconduct.”
According to the revised policy, the term has expanded to include “‘sexual harassment,’ which is broadly defined and may include instances of stalking, cyberstalking, or relationship violence, and ‘sexual exploitation,’ which includes causing another’s incapacitation, recording or transmitting sexual images, voyeurism, and the knowing transmission of a sexually transmitted infection to another person.”
University officials declined to comment on the Richmond Times-Dispatch’s findings.
Allegations of sexual misconduct are typically handled by University police. Former University student Kathryn Russell took issue with that policy after a student she accused of raping her was acquitted by the University’s Sexual Misconduct Board.
The Russell family is now pushing for Kathryn’s Law, or House Bill 2490. This proposed legislation would transfer oversight of investigations concerning sexual assault cases on college campuses in Virginia to local or state law enforcement, bypassing university police departments.
The Virginia State Crime Commission is currently considering the bill. Dan and Gil Harrington, parents of the slain Morgan Harrington, have voiced their support for the legislation. They are scheduled to speak with the commission about HB 2490 tomorrow.