Brief: Open investigation on sexual assault case at Rider
By Grace Bertrand
Lawrence Police are investigating a sexual assault alleged to have happened Jan. 1 on campus, while the university was closed for the winter break, according to Rider’s Department of Public Safety.
Rider issued a Timely Warning on Feb. 12 as required by the federal Jeanne Clery Disclosure of Campus Security Policy and Campus Crime Statistics Act of 1998, commonly known as the Clery Act, to inform the Rider community of crimes on campus or related to the university.
The university released little information, but shared that the two individuals involved knew each other. Their names have not been released.
Director of Public Safety Matthew Babcock said he could not give any more information to The Rider News as the investigation is with Lawrence Police.
The Rider News is awaiting comment on its request for police records from Lawrence Police.
The incident was reported to Lawrence Police, and later told to Public Safety on Feb. 2.
Lawrence Police requested Public Safety delay the Timely Warning notification “to avoid compromising its investigation,” the Feb. 12 warning said.
Under the Clery Act, Rider is required to notify the campus community when serious threats are made to the school.
The Timely Warning from Public Safety ended with instructions and resources for where sexual assault victims could go to for help, including the Rider University Counseling Center and off-campus agencies like the Younity, Domestic and Sexual Violence Support in Mercer County.
Rider’s Office of Title IX and Equal Opportunity Compliance is responsible for investigating sexual assaults that take place on campus. Dean of Students and Deputy Title IX Coordinator Christine Mehlhorn told The Rider News that the report was not made to the university, but rather to Lawrence Police directly, limiting the information that the university can share.
Mehlhorn said, “Based on the information provided by law enforcement, there is no indication of an ongoing threat to the campus community at this time.”
The Title IX Department is also transitioning under new leadership, Mehlhorn said, as former Title IX Coordinator Ryan McKinney is no longer at Rider. Mehlhorn disclosed that a new Title IX coordinator has been hired and will be announced to the university community soon.
