Once a student reports to their college, it’s up to the accused to prove they’re innocent, so it’s much easier to get convictions. There’s no statute of limitations at colleges, so students can file charges, or have charges filed against them, at any time – even years after the alleged event. I don’t believe either of these things is a good thing for our young people. Crimes need to be handled in public courts where the accused have rights and those who are convicted have public records that follow them, not sealed records that are only released to other colleges by way of college transcripts.
The danger of pursuing these types of cases through colleges, whose main job is not to locate and prosecute dangerous offenders, is that some people who are a danger to our communities are never identified, and some who are innocent have their lives destroyed. I think college tribunals are the wrong places to handle sexual assault charges and I hope young people are encouraged to report them to police instead of campus personnel who have a vested interest in both the outcomes and the attendant publicity.
There’s a 16-year statute of limitations for filing rape charges with the police in MA and this young woman is well within that, so I don’t know why she wouldn’t file with them. It sounds like there’s physical evidence, so for the sake of other women I hope she pursues it if she hasn’t already.