University police have determined that a December rape and kidnap claim on UB North Campus never happened.
The student told police that on Dec. 3, she was taken from the Lake LaSalle Parking Lot to a remote location and sexually assaulted, as previously reported by The Spectrum in the article "Student raped in North Campus Attack" [Dec. 5, 2007].
The University Police Department has been unable to find physical evidence or witnesses to the attack, according to Chief of University Police Gerald Schoenle.
"There was no physical evidence to back up her story, so we had some suspicion right after it happened," Schoenle said late Thursday afternoon. "Ultimately, the alleged victim signed a statement [saying] it didn't happen."
Schoenle said that though this crime was deemed to be false, sexual assaults are highly underreported. He encourages true victims of sexual assault to report the incident.
"We want to encourage people to report... It's pretty rare for somebody to report a sex offense that didn't occur," Schoenle said. "Sexual assaults are, in general, one of the most underreported crimes, and it's probably even more so on college campuses."
Schoenle said that the most common perpetrator in sexual assaults is someone the victim knows.
"In most cases, the sex assaults are not stranger sexual assaults, they are acquaintance assaults," he said.
The woman who reported the attack is no longer a student, according to Schoenle. While falsely reporting a sexual assault is a crime, Schoenle said the police have decided against pressing charges.
"With the totality of the whole circumstances behind her statement to us, we felt that it would be her best interest not to [pursue criminal charges]," Schoenle said.
The woman has, instead, been referred to the Student-Wide Judiciary.
Photo: Courtesy of Laron Fomby
