2008 Woodie Awards
Female student recants alleged rape assault
February claim of knife attack leads to posters
By Monte Ashqar
Issue date: 9/14/07 Section: News
Originally published: 9/13/07 at 6:01 PM CSTLast update: 9/14/07 at 10:56 AM CST
- Page 1 of 1
The female student who claimed she was sexually assaulted in February on campus recanted her police report this summer.
Don Adams, the district's chief of the department of public safety, said the student recanted her rape assault report after the department's investigators came to the conclusion that the incident did not occur.
"We decided not to pursue any criminal charges against her for filing a false report," Adams said.
Getting to the truth and the student being safe were the relevant factors in making that decision, he said.
"There was an expense to investigate, of course, and for the interest of justice and humanity, we decided not to pursue any charges," Adams said.
The alleged assault happened Feb. 13 according to a story published in The Ranger. The student claimed she was assaulted by a knife-wielding white male while she was walking to her car at Main Avenue and Myrtle Street, and then he dragged her to his van and sexually assaulted her.
A flier describing the man was distributed by the department shortly after.
According to the Texas Penal Code, filing a false report is a Class B misdemeanor. It is punishable by a fine not to exceed $2,000 and or 180 days in jail.
Adams said her identity is still protected. "If somebody files for an open record request with the department, then we would have to consult with our legal department to make sure we don't breach any laws before revealing her identity," Adams said.
Debra Martin, public information officer, said the student recanted her story June 29.
"We are glad that she is OK and that nobody got hurt," Martin said. "We never issued a press statement because we didn't want to aggravate the issue any more."
President Robert Zeigler said in a phone interview Thursday that the whole situation was unfortunate.
On not releasing a statement, Zeigler said the story was given a lot of publicity and the college did not want to damage the student's reputation.
He added that because her identity is still protected by the law, now might be a good time to draft a release.
The Ranger is requesting the incident and attendant investigation reports.
Don Adams, the district's chief of the department of public safety, said the student recanted her rape assault report after the department's investigators came to the conclusion that the incident did not occur.
"We decided not to pursue any criminal charges against her for filing a false report," Adams said.
Getting to the truth and the student being safe were the relevant factors in making that decision, he said.
"There was an expense to investigate, of course, and for the interest of justice and humanity, we decided not to pursue any charges," Adams said.
The alleged assault happened Feb. 13 according to a story published in The Ranger. The student claimed she was assaulted by a knife-wielding white male while she was walking to her car at Main Avenue and Myrtle Street, and then he dragged her to his van and sexually assaulted her.
A flier describing the man was distributed by the department shortly after.
According to the Texas Penal Code, filing a false report is a Class B misdemeanor. It is punishable by a fine not to exceed $2,000 and or 180 days in jail.
Adams said her identity is still protected. "If somebody files for an open record request with the department, then we would have to consult with our legal department to make sure we don't breach any laws before revealing her identity," Adams said.
Debra Martin, public information officer, said the student recanted her story June 29.
"We are glad that she is OK and that nobody got hurt," Martin said. "We never issued a press statement because we didn't want to aggravate the issue any more."
President Robert Zeigler said in a phone interview Thursday that the whole situation was unfortunate.
On not releasing a statement, Zeigler said the story was given a lot of publicity and the college did not want to damage the student's reputation.
He added that because her identity is still protected by the law, now might be a good time to draft a release.
The Ranger is requesting the incident and attendant investigation reports.
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