A sexual assault was reported to a University administrator Tuesday, according to the Notre Dame Security Police (NDSP) crime log from Wednesday.
The alleged rape occurred on Jan. 17 in a North Quad men’s residence hall, according to the crime log.
Unlike in other cases this year, however, students did not receive an NDSP crime alert email detailing the allegations. The Jeanne Clery Act, originally known as the Campus Security Act, is the federal law that details how and what universities and colleges disclose in terms of crime on campus, according to the Clery Center for Security on Campus.
The crime alert emails the Notre Dame community receives are sent out because of regulations in the Clery Act. According to the Clery Center, the act requires universities and colleges to “issue timely warnings about Clery Act crimes which pose a serious or ongoing threat to students and employees.”
Clery Act crimes that are reported a significant amount of time after they occur may not qualify as timely. However, the Clery Act does not dictate the amount of time that disqualifies an incident from requiring a warning in the form of a crime alert.
Therefore, 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.
Because the sexual assault in question was reported roughly three months after it took place, NDSP determined it was no longer a timely threat, Keri Kei Shibata, deputy chief, said.
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).
