Reported sexual assaults still often go unpunished at Boston University and rarely result in prosecutions, records show. However, over the three most recent years of available data, BU sanctioned more students for sexual assault than many neighboring schools.
From 2006 to 2008, BU reported 21 cases of sexual assault to the federal government, 11 of which went through the school’s Judicial Affairs office.
Of those cases, none resulted in expulsion for the suspected assailant and only five resulted in punishment of any kind, according to records provided by BU spokesman Colin Riley.
Two students accused of sexual assault received university probation, two received university suspension and one was banned from university residences, according to Riley, who obtained the information from the Dean’s Office, where Judicial Affairs is centered.
In all, there were 4,672 internal disciplinary cases from 2006 to 2008.
Although some cases were reported to the police, Riley wrote in an email, none resulted in prosecution.
“Each incident has its own facts,” Riley said.
Some sexual assault victims do not want their assailants to receive major punishments, Riley said.
Sarah Merriman, a spokeswoman for the BU Women’s Resource Center, expressed dismay over these figures, but emphasized that she doesn’t know the details of every case.
“There should be some sort of pursuing of judicial measures that should keep students safe,” she said. “If [suspects] have an allegation against them, they should have the punishment that fits it. We all deserve to feel safe on campus.”
Still, BU punishes more suspects than some nearby schools, including Tufts University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, neither of which expelled or suspended anyone suspected of sexual assault from 2003 to 2008, a recent investigation by the New England Center for Investigative Reporting at BU showed.
Additionally, Tufts and MIT are two recipients of a Department of Justice grant for fighting on-campus sexual assault, according to NECIR. BU has never applied for the grant program.
The investigation was published Feb. 25 in The Boston Globe and other outlets as part of a series with the Center for Public Integrity.
At BU, a discrepancy exists between the number of assault cases reported to the government and the number processed through judicial affairs. Riley said there could be multiple reasons for this: The alleged assailant could be a non-student, he said, or an accuser could refuse to give their assailant’s name or description.
This federally reported information shows that 16 reported sexual assaults occurred on campus, one occurred off campus and four occurred on public property.
BU reported this information to the Department of Education as a part of the Jeanne Clery Disclosure of Campus Security Policy and Campus Crime Statistics Act.
There are nine categories of crimes that the Clery Act requires schools with students receiving financial aid to report, one of which is forcible sexual offenses (statutory rape and incest are included under the category of non-forcible sexual offenses).The Clery Act figures are gathered by the BU Police Department, said Scott Paré, BU’s deputy director of public safety.
BUPD sends out a letter with Clery reporting guidelines every year to Dean of Students Kenneth Elmore, Director of Residence Life David Zamojski, Student Health Services Director David McBride, Director of Equal Opportunity Kim Randall, Director of Housing Marc Robillard, University Service Center Director Denise Mooney, Student Activities Executive Director John Battaglino, Disability Services Director Lorraine Wolf and Custodial Director Luis Da Costa.
Religious figures and counselors do not receive this letter and are excluded from Clery requirements. Judicial Affairs reports the highest number of Clery crimes to the BUPD, Paré said.
Every reported Clery Act crime is sent to the federal government, even those where the suspect is eventually found not guilty.
“Once it’s reported, it’s a stat &- the disposition doesn’t matter,” Paré said. “It’s a reportable offense.”
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