In March, a female jogger reported being sexually assaulted by an armed man on campus. Authorities now say the crime never happened.
Stanford’s Department of Public Safety (DPS) conducted a “thorough investigation” into the assault, which allegedly took place on March 29 by the intersection of Santa Ynez Street and Mayfield Avenue. Investigators determined the report was fabricated, according to Stanford PR Director Charlene Gage.
“[The Department of Public Safety] recognizes that these findings may raise concerns for survivors about whether they will be believed if they make a police report,” Gage wrote in an email to The Daily. “[The department] remains steadfastly committed to treating every report with the utmost seriousness and care.”
The department will conduct comprehensive and impartial investigations, she added, based on evidence and “guided by respect for those who come forward to report these serious crimes.”
Gage said the same woman reported another sexual assault on April 5, which investigators found did not occur either based on “strong evidence.”
In the March report, the woman told university police the perpetrator grabbed her, “pushed [her] into a landscaped area near a house,” and sexually assaulted her at approximately 6:15 p.m. She said he carried a firearm.
Students received a campus-wide alert from Stanford University Department of Public Safety (SUDPS) that night at 10:40 p.m.
The woman described the assailant as clean-shaven, with dark skin, brown eyes and short hair. She said he wore a light blue sweatshirt, a thick, braided bracelet and dark jeans, with a “semi-automatic handgun in the waistband.”
In early April, University spokesperson Angie Davis wrote in a statement to The Daily that “DPS has no evidence that there is a threat to the community related to this incident.”
Even so, the reported assault left Stanford community members with safety concerns, The Daily previously reported. Many students took precautionary measures, including locking their doors, sharing their locations, purchasing pepper spray and keeping to well-lit and populated areas.
“Hearing the news that first Sunday back from Spring Break was heartbreaking,” incoming ASSU Executive Vice President Celeste Vargas ‘27 wrote in a March email to The Daily. “ It’s a scary time to be a woman on campus.”
Several news outlets covered the reported assault, including CBS News, NBC Bay Area and ABC7 Bay Area.
It remains unknown whether the woman who reported the assault is a Stanford student or affiliate. It is also unclear what motivated the false report.