A rape was reported to a University administrator March 22, according to the Notre Dame Security Police (NDSP) crime log for March 23.
The alleged rape occurred on an unknown date in 2014 in a Notre Dame residence hall, according to the crime log entry.
The Jeanne Clery Act, originally known as the Campus Security Act, is the federal law that details how and what universities and colleges are required to disclose in terms of crime on campus, according to the Clery Center for Security on Campus. In accordance with this regulation, students did not receive an NDSP crime alert email detailing the allegations when they were reported to the University.
Both the daily crime log kept by NDSP and the crime alert emails the Notre Dame community receives are the result of regulations in the Clery Act. The Clery Act requires universities and colleges to “issue timely warnings about Clery Act crimes which pose a serious or ongoing threat to students and employees.” These crimes fall into three major categories: criminal offenses, hate crimes and arrests and referrals for disciplinary action.
Because the Clery Act does not dictate a timeframe or requirement for a “timely” warning, crimes that are reported a significant amount of time after they occur may not meet the timeliness standard. NDSP judges on a case-by-case basis whether or not the reported incident necessitates an alert based on its timeliness and whether or not the offender in question poses a threat to the community at large.
Information about sexual assault prevention and resources for survivors of sexual assault are available online from NDSP and from the Committee for Sexual Assault Prevention (CSAP).
