Two sexual assaults allegedly happened in and around a University of Texas at Arlington dormitory in mid-September, according to a campus safety bulletin that has left students on edge weeks after the reported incidents. The University of Texas at Arlington Police Department says the first assault occurred on or around Sept. 15 inside West Hall, a student dorm, with a second assault reported shortly afterward in a restroom in the same building.
The department sent the safety bulletin email to the university community on Thursday, notifying students roughly three weeks after the incidents allegedly took place, according to CBS News Texas. Police believe the alleged offender is a UTA student who lives in the residence hall, the station reports, though his or her identity had not been disclosed to investigators at the time the bulletin went out.
The reporting student knows the alleged offender but had not provided that person's identity to police, according to The Shorthorn. As of Thursday evening, that student had not filed a formal report with UTA PD, the student newspaper notes, leaving the case in a kind of limbo even as the wider campus was being alerted to what allegedly happened.
What the University Is Telling Students
UTA says it is supporting those affected by the incidents, that there is no known ongoing threat to the broader campus, and that the matter remains under investigation, per the same CBS News Texas report. Officials said the safety alert was sent out in accordance with the Jeanne Clery Campus Safety Act, the federal law requiring colleges to disclose certain crimes and warn the community about potential threats.
The bulletin also included a reminder to the campus community that consent must be voluntary, ongoing, and can be withdrawn at any time, according to the Shorthorn's account of the message. The Jeanne Clery Act requires colleges to disclose certain crimes and warn the community about potential threats.
A Campus With a History of Scrutiny Over Assault Reports
This is not the first time sexual assault allegations have put UTA under a spotlight. Back in September 2013, campus police were investigating four sexual assaults reported since the start of that school year, according to a report from the Dallas Morning News. Three of those four assaults were reported at the Sigma Phi Epsilon fraternity house, with the most recent of the four tied to the Life Science Building, and no arrests had been made as of that Tuesday evening, the paper reported at the time.
The university placed Sigma Phi Epsilon on interim suspension the day after the first of those assaults was reported, and five fraternity chapters in total were eventually placed on interim suspension amid a broader investigation that also touched on underage alcohol abuse and other policy violations, according to the same Dallas Morning News account. UTA said then that it was conducting a broad assessment of its policies, operations, and compliance related to Greek organizations. Separately, reports of sexual assaults, hazing, and extreme alcohol use led the university to suspend social activities at fraternities and sororities altogether, according to NBC 5 Dallas-Fort Worth, with the school forming a task force to help decide a plan going forward.
Where the Current Investigation Stands
For now, UTA police have not said whether an arrest or disciplinary action has followed the September reports, and the identities of both the reporting student and the alleged offender remain unknown publicly. The department maintains a Daily Crime Log documenting criminal activity reported on campus, available upon request, and annual reports, according to the University of Texas at Arlington Police Department.
With the reporting student not having filed an official report as of Thursday evening, the path forward for a formal investigation remains uncertain. UTA has reiterated that it is supporting those impacted while the case continues, even as students in West Hall and across campus are left absorbing the news weeks after the alleged assaults occurred.
