By PATRICK ARMSTRONG
Editor In Chief

On Thursday, April 8, The All State’s Freedom of Information Act request letter, which was sent on Monday, March 22, regarding the attempted abduction on campus that occurred on Tuesday, March 16, was responded to via e-mail seven days late, according to Tennessee Code Annotated 10-7-503 (2)(B)(i-iii).

According to the requested police report, the attempted abduction happened on Tuesday, March 16, at 10 p.m. Campus Police was not notified of the incident until the complaint was telephoned in. On Wednesday, March 17, APSU Campus Police Officer Richard Wacker was assigned to the call.

The complaint came from an adult black female who said she was on her way from Meacham to her room in Sevier walking with her iPod ear buds in and her hands full. She was going eastbound on Govs Lane on the sidewalk near Miller.

“I was coming up the sidewalk next to the Red Barn and a black man driving a small, dark-colored four-door car pulled up next to me,” the complainant said in a written statement.

The offender was an unknown adult black male between 20 and 30 years old, 6” tall, of average build, wore a black hoodie and smelled like tobacco.

The victim could not remember any noticeable or identifying marks. When the offender drove up, he tried to get her attention by saying “aye.” She turned around and did not recognize him and then ignored him.

“He proceeded to continue to follow me and try to get my attention. I kept walking.” After three attempts, the offender pulled ahead of her, parked his car, got out and walked to the sidewalk, blocking her path.

“He grabbed me by my arm and tried to shove me into the car. I resisted and propped my foot against the back seat to use as leverage. We tussled for a minute. I threw my boot back behind me and it hit him. He took a couple steps back, paused, ran around, got in the car and drove away.”

The victim did not get a good look at the offender or the car. The car was described as a small, newer four-door sedan, black or dark blue in color, similar to a Honda or Toyota, with power locks and windows and leather interior. “It was very clean and had nothing distinguishing sitting out. That’s all I really remember,” the complainant’s statement said.

On Monday, March 22, APSU Campus Police Officer Elizabeth Genthner met with the complainant for a follow-up. The victim said the reason she waited to report the incident was because she was shocked but included she was frustrated because she could not provide more details. As of press time, Monday, April 12, the victim had not returned The All State’s phone call made Monday.

Each week, The All State prints the campus crime log and organizes the information online at www.theallstate.org.

Since the attempted abduction occurred, four revisions to the campus crime log have been given to The All State.

Of the four, there is no documentation of the attempted abduction that occurred on Tuesday, March 16. This puts APSU in violation of the Clery Act by 19 business days as of press time Monday, April 12.

According to The U.S. Department of Education’s Higher Education Center for Alcohol, Drug Abuse and Violence Web site, www.higheredcenter.org/mandates/clery-act, the Clery Act “is a federal mandate requiring all institutions of higher education that participate in the federal student financial aid program to disclose information about crime on their campuses and in the surrounding communities.”

The Clery Act requires crimes be added to the campus crime log within two days of the initial report and add new information about previously recorded crimes be added to the campus crime log within two business days.

The U.S. Department of Education can impose fines up to $27,500 per violation. In extraordinary cases, the department can withhold all federal funds from a noncompliant school.

Written complaints about violations with the Clery Act regarding disclosure obligations can be filed with the director of the Regional Office of the U.S. Department of Education.

The Clery Act is named after Jeanne Clery, a 19-year-old Lehigh University student who was raped and murdered in her residence hall in 1986.

Her parents’ lobbied Congress to enact the law because their daughter had not been notified about the 38 violent crimes that occurred on campus three years before the murder.

As of press time on Monday, April 12, neither Director of Public Safety Lantz Biles and Assistant Director of Public Safety Charlie Struckel had returned e-mails or phone calls made on Monday.

UPDATE (Tuesday, April 13, 7:45 a.m.): Director of Public Safety Lantz Biles responded to The All State’s. Biles said, “I have spoken with my staff and believe the omission was an oversight.The log will be updated.”

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