Cazenovia village police are investigating the second alleged rape in nine days that reportedly occurred inside a dormitory at Cazenovia College.
The latest incident, reported to have occurred on May 11, allegedly occurred to a female Cazenovia College student, who is also a Cazenovia resident, by a male student who attends another local college and is not a resident of Cazenovia, according to police. The incident reportedly occurred in a dorm room on the Cazenovia College campus, according to police.
Police would not release the ages or academic year of the alleged victim or alleged perpetrator.
“The case is still under investigation. There is no other information that I can give at this time,” said Cazenovia Police Chief Michael Hayes.
Cazenovia police are working with Cazenovia College campus security on the investigation, Hayes said.
“An accusation of a sexual assault was recently made and the college is cooperating fully with law enforcement as they investigate the complaint to determine if a crime occurred. Details of such incidents are not disclosed, nor are involved parties identified when an investigation is pending,” said Wayne Westervelt, vice president for marketing and communications at Cazenovia College.
This is the second report of a rape at the college — in an on-campus dormitory room — in nine days. The previous incident reportedly occurred during late night Friday, May 2, and early morning Saturday, May 3 in a college dorm room, according to police reports. The incident is also still under investigation, with Cazenovia police currently waiting for results on the evidence from the New York State Police crime lab, Hayes said.
When asked if the college is concerned about the close proximity of two reported rapes in barely more than a week, Westervelt said, “The college continues to take such matters seriously and never wavers in our concern for our students’ safety and welfare.”
Cazenovia College is a co-ed school of about 1,000 students with a nearly 3-to-1 female-to-male student ratio.
The last day of classes for the spring academic year was Monday, May 5. Commencement exercises were held last Saturday, May 17.
Jason Emerson is editor of the Cazenovia Republican. He can be reached at [email protected].
