Press pries into assault cases Accused student reported to have withdrawn from College

Author: Caroline S. Stauffer

The Champlain Channel Five Reporter Ben Stein was on campus Friday asking students questions about the ongoing investigation into two alleged sexual assaults that reportedly took place in the early morning hours of Saturday, April 1.

"Students in the area of Ridgeline Parking Lot were concerned and didn't want to have to deal with the press," Director of Public Safety Lisa Boudah said. "Any time any non-community member comes onto campus and bothers people we'll go and look into it and determine if they should be there."

She also said that the reporter was directed to the Public Affairs Office.

Articles appeared in The Burlington Free Press and on the WCAX-TV (Channel 3 News) Web site on Saturday, April 24. Both accounts noted that the student accused of raping two Middlebury women had withdrawn from the College. The Free Press coverage included a statement from President of the College Ronald D. Liebowitz as released by Vice President for Communication Mike McKenna.

"On hearing reports of unacceptable and potentially unlawful behavior at a social house party, the College launched an immediate and intensive investigation, which is ongoing,," Lieboitz's statement reads. "Disciplinary proceedings had been initiated for suspected violations of College standards of conduct by a student who has since withdrawn from the College."

Dean of Student Affairs Tim Spears would not say whether the student had withdrawn of his own accord or as a result of a College judicial hearing, citing the need for confidentiality in such matters.

Delta House members said that the reporter knocked on the door of Prescott House, where the sexual assaults allegedly took place, hoping to interview students on Friday. The House has collectively adopted a policy of not speaking to the media about the ongoing investigations, and alerted Public Safety of the reporter's presence.

Reports of the two incidents of sexual assault first appeared in the College's Public Safety log in the April 13 edition of The Middlebury Campus.

A Middlebury Police Department investigation led by Patrol Officer Vegar Boe is looking into the incident, including the role "ADHD-type drugs" may have played.