Oxford, Ohio-Security On Campus, Inc. is asking for a federal review of how Miami University of Ohio handles sexual assault complaints after an internal audit revealed that in at least six out of nine sexual assault cases heard by the school's disciplinary process since 1997 the victims did not receive proper, written notification of the final results as required by the federal
Jeanne Clery Act. Miami had been
previously found in violation of this requirement in 1997, and at that time had agreed to provide the written results to both the accused and accuser.
Miami officials last Tuesday, October 5th, began to review disciplinary files of recent sexual assault cases after discovering that in an October 2003 sexual imposition case the victim did not receive a letter indicating what final actions were taken against the accused, Jason Landis. In that case Landis entered the residence hall room of a female freshman he did not know and fondled her. He pled guilty last November in criminal court to aggravated trespassing and sexual imposition, a misdemeanor.
Landis, a Miami senior, was also suspended for a year by Miami, until this fall. Shortly after returning to school he was charged with rape by Oxford police in a separate incident on September 28th. In the fall 2003 assault the victim, who has since transferred to another school, was incorrectly told that her assailant's suspension was through the fall of 2005 instead of this fall.
"To me, being suspended for that short amount of time was not an appropriate consequence," said the victim of the fall 2003 assault. "Had I received a copy of the final determination that the suspension was actually intended to be only until the fall of 2004, I would have certainly recognized the discrepancy in dates. My parents and I would have expressed our displeasure with Miami officials."
Security On Campus, Inc. believes that had the Clery Act been complied with a lot of needless pain and suffering by at least two young women at Miami University could have been avoided. Had the first victim known the actual punishment imposed, she could have appealed (a right guaranteed by the federal Title IX law) or at least warned the rest of the campus community about the return of her assailant. Written notice, equal to that received by the accused, must be provided in order to ensure fairness, and to ensure that victims get full disclosure.
Because Miami had been put on notice of the need to comply with this requirement, and had agreed to do so in writing seven years ago we are asking the U.S. Department of Education to consider imposing civil penalties of up to $27,500 for each violation. Violations of the law have consequences for victims, and they must also have consequences for schools.
Additional Information-
"Jeremy's guilty plea will go down as sexual imposition, but everyone knows what happened," the victim said during a statement delivered in open court after the plea. "But as we know, Jeremy is no innocent man. He is guilty. He is a cancer that has not only struck me, but others."
According to statements made in court Goldstein is now attending college in New York where he will be required to check-in with his probation officer over the phone. He was expelled from Ohio State University last year after being found responsible in the February 2002 sexual assault, and for other violations of the student conduct code. OSU delayed proceedings for over a year, resulting in the lawsuit filed by the victim.
Columbus, Ohio-Jeremy Goldstein (pictured right), the former Ohio State University student accused of rape in the case that is now at the center of a six million dollar federal 