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St. Charles Police now investigating alleged sex assault in Guffey Hall

September 20, 2017

Sexual assault was reported in Guffey Hall on the night of Sept. 12-13, but the exact timing of the incident has not been confirmed.
Photo by Essi Auguste Virtanen

ESSI AUGUSTE VIRTANEN | Editor-in-Chief

The St. Charles Police is now investigating the alleged sexual assault reported in Guffey Hall a week ago.

Lt. Chad Fisk, St. Charles City Police Department public information officer, confirmed the victim is a female, and he said she reported the attack to the police Tuesday afternoon.

A “timely alert” email sent on Sept. 14 stated that the incident happened on the night of Sept. 12-13 in the all-male dormitory. An exact time has not been confirmed.

The perpetrator was described as a 19-22-year-old white male who is known to the victim.

Last week, Director of Public Safety & Security John Bowman confirmed that the victim of the assault is a Lindenwood student. He could not be reached for comment on Wednesday.

According to the Lindenwood Sexual Misconduct Policy‘s response protocol:

“The reporting party will be given the option to file a criminal report with the St. Charles Police Department or other appropriate jurisdiction. A reporting party’s decision not to notify the police at the time of the initial report does not preclude the reporting party from filing a criminal report at a later date, provided the conduct is within Missouri’s applicable statute of limitations.”
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Fisk said it is entirely up to the victim whether to report it to local police.