Police still do not have a suspect in the alleged sexual assault that took place in a Warren Towers bathroom three weeks ago, Boston University administrators told dorm residents last night.
After receiving emails, phone calls and letters from concerned community members asking for updates on the case, Dean of Students Kenneth Elmore and BUPD Chief Thomas Robbins held three meetings for the residents of each tower in Warren, but the turnout was much lower than expected.
Only 12 female students from Shields Tower, where a female visitor reported she was assaulted in the 16th-floor bathroom at 3:30 a.m. Sunday, Sept. 30, attended the first meeting.
“It seems that it’s gone from, ‘Yes, an assault occurred,’ to a focus on the word ‘alleged,'” said College of Arts and Sciences freshman Alice Fagan, who attended the C Tower meeting.
“Based on the investigation conducted to date, we have found no additional evidence of a crime, and we believe that there is no serious, continuing threat to our campus as a result of this reported assault,” Elmore said in an email to the community after the meetings.
Although BUPD cannot reveal information specific to the investigation because of state privacy laws in rape cases, Robbins said forensic evidence gathered from the crime scene the night of the incident is being processed at a Boston crime lab.
“Unfortunately, this isn’t like CSI, and we can’t get the results back in 50 minutes,” Robbins said. “The lab has other competing crime cases to look into. For everyone’s sake, we want this to come to a rapid conclusion, but obviously the investigation has to take its course of time.”
Following the incident, BUPD downloaded recordings from surveillance cameras around the building and reviewed records of who swiped into the dorm. Police also interviewed all residents of the 16th floor.
BUPD officers are assigned to random patrols of Warren and other large dormitories, Robbins said. An officer was assigned to stand in the lobby of Warren Towers for the days immediately following the incident, though no officer stands guard in the lobby anymore.
“We do not feel there is a continuing serious threat in [Warren] with regard to this situation,” Elmore said.
Elmore said he will send an email to the community detailing the meetings. He encouraged students to share the information with their parents.
“Continue to have conversations about these issues, and be mindful of these things,” he said. “Let’s not wait for a crisis moment to take our safety seriously.”