Updated: No massmail released after three weekend sexual assaults
February 21, 2017
Three sexual assaults were reported over the weekend, according to police reports. Two were reported to the Champaign Police Department, while one was reported to the University of Illinois Police Department.
A 20-year-old female reported a sexual assault to Champaign Police at 11:23 a.m. on Saturday. According to the report, the alleged assault occurred Friday night at a sorority house in Champaign.
A 19-year-old female reported a sexual assault to Champaign Police at 7:52 p.m. Sunday. According to the report, the alleged assault occurred in the 400 block of East Green Street, and the female was uncooperative with the police.
In the third incident, a student reported a sexual assault to the University of Illinois Police Department at 6:45 p.m. Saturday. In that report, the student alleged being assaulted at a University residence hall.
The University has yet to release a Campus Massmail about the sexual assaults.
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However, the Clery Act requires University Police to inform the public of reported crimes with certain restrictions. The Champaign Police are not required to send a notification to students about crimes occurring off-campus.
According to the Clery Act, the UIPD is required to: “Issue timely warnings and campus alerts for Clery crimes that represent an ongoing threat to the safety of students or employees, or emergency notifications upon confirmation of a significant emergency or dangerous situation involving an immediate threat to the health or safety of students or employees.”
UIPD spokesman Patrick Wade said that none of the cases this weekend require a notice to be sent, due to location and the lack of an ongoing public safety threat.
“One of these incidents was not in a campus location. The other two, it was determined that they did not present an ongoing public safety threat,” Wade said.
It is important to note that they do not send Campus Safety Notices for every sexual assault that occurs on or near campus, Wade said. Instead, he said it is more important to note that the vast majority of assaults are not reported.
“The sexual assaults of which we are made aware are just a fraction of what we believe is actually occurring,” Wade said.
He said that a campus climate survey last year found that one in seven women reported experiencing sexual assault during their undergraduate careers.
“It’s so important for our campus community to pay attention to this issue — campus sexual assault is pervasive throughout the country, and that includes us,” Wade said.
