Isabel Morales/THE RIDER
As of March 1, no criminal charges are being pursued in two sexual assault cases that occurred in Heritage Hall on the UTRGV Edinburg campus last month, according to University Police.
On Feb. 13, two female students reported being sexually assaulted in their dormitory room the previous night. The police reports state the two cases are related but involve a different suspect.
Both reports state the suspects, who were over the age of 21, provided alcoholic beverages to the victims who are under 21 years old.
In an interview with The Rider, UTRGV Assistant Chief of Police Van Slusser said the victims met the suspects through social media and invited them as guests to Heritage Hall.
Slusser also confirmed with The Rider that no arrests were made but university police have spoken with both suspects.
“There is still an ongoing investigation,” he said. “There are some items of evidence that have been sent out for processing.”
Asked what UTRGV Police does in cases where victims do not want to pursue criminal charges, Slusser said they still continue with their investigation as far as they can because victims still have the option of filing charges at a later time.
“On a sexual assault, that time period is years where they could, at any point in the future, subject to the statute of limitations, come back and decide to press charges,” he said. “So, we don’t stop our investigation or change our investigative practices based upon whether or not a victim is wanting to file charges at the time.”
Slusser explained that the only difference is that an arrest would not be made and the case would not be submitted to the district attorney if a victim does not want to file charges.
“And that’s completely their option and their own decision,” he said. “So, we support that.”
Whether or not charges are filed, Slusser said UTRGV Police still make referrals for services offered by the department.
“We have a crime victims’ liaison that’s in-house that can provide crime victims services and facilitate counseling and other supports that the university can offer,” he said. “A lot of the supports are made through the Title IX Office, which is the Office of Institutional Equity and Diversity, and they handle any type of administrative investigation on the part of the university and they’re able to provide some administrative and academic supports above and beyond what the police department can do.”
The reports identify sexual assault as a second degree felony, which, in Texas, is punishable by up to 20 years in prison and a fine of up to $10,000 upon conviction.
Slusser said if someone would like to report an incident but does not want to file charges, they can still do so without getting the university police involved.
“They can make a report to the Title IX Office,” he said. “… And that matter can be investigated administratively by their office. They have their own investigators. They’re not criminal investigators, but if the suspect is [a] student, staff or faculty, then there can be administrative sanctions that the university pursues against those offenders.”
Another option that is completely confidential is the Office for Advocacy and Violence Prevention (OAVP).
“If they report to that office, the information stops there,” he said. “They basically are just victim advocates and they provide a trauma-informed counseling response to the victims and they can maintain complete confidentiality, if that’s what the victim wants.”
Slusser also said that if somebody is in this type of circumstance and drugs or alcohol was involved, the police department would not hold it against them.
“So it should never be a barrier for a victim to come forward and make a report,” he said. “We’re never gonna go after a true victim of a crime where there may have also been something else going on, especially in cases of sexual assault.”
He said these things can never be prevented a hundred percent but some safety tips he mentioned are meeting in public places, having friends with you when these meetings take place, being aware of red flags and setting clear personal boundaries.
“… But I do wanna make clear that the only people responsible for crimes are the suspects, the offenders,” he said. “It’s never the fault of the victim of any crime.”
