Sexual Assault Update: Student-Victim Recants Story

By Broadside Reporter David Pierce.

The female student who filed a police report on Saturday, Oct. 18 claiming she was sexually assaulted by two black males, one with a handgun, near the loading dock of Student Union Building II, recanted her story on Sunday, Oct. 26 in an interview with University Police.

Assistant Chief of Police, Major George Ginovsky, would not comment about any disciplinary action. He said she was referred to the Dean of Students office, and that there was no decision on a criminal charge yet. The Dean of Students and Assistant Vice President of University Life, Pamela Patterson, did not respond before deadline.

Ginovsky had some advice for students who might file a false
police report in the future.

“Don’t do it; it’s a serious crime in Virginia,” said Ginovsky. He added that students who would file a false police report stand the chance of being criminally prosecuted.

Due to the fact that the victim remains anonymous, Broadside could not reach the victim for comment.
Connie Kirkland, director of Sexual Assault Services, could not comment on this specific case, but did give possible reasons for why victims of sexual assault would recant their initial stories.

“Some people make a report to the police or to the school about the sexual assault that happened to them and then after an investigation begins, sometimes they feel too much pressure to continue because it’s difficult to talk about the very specific details of what happens to you during a sexual assault,” said Kirkland. “And remember that if a report is made within just a few days after the incident happened, it’s still fresh in the person’s mind.”

Another reason is because “They have talked with their family members who have suggested it’s not the right thing to do, so they just say it didn’t happen to get out of it,” said Kirkland.

“Sometimes it’s just the person, herself or himself, feels that it’s not going to end where they want it to,” said Kirkland. “They know that the chances of getting an arrest or getting a conviction at a trial are very difficult and so they just choose to get out of the system all together. And sometimes instead of saying ‘I don’t want to go any further,’ they say it didn’t happen.”

Kirkland also stated that sometimes people do lie about being sexually assaulted.

“I just wanted to make it clear that it’s not always a lie when somebody says it didn’t happen,” said Kirkland. “Sometimes that feels like that’s the easiest way to get out of the criminal justice system.”