Temple University investigating reported rape at off-campus University Village apartments

Temple University has opened an inquiry into a rape reported at University Village, a privately run student apartment complex near its North Philadelphia campus. Several outlets reported that the school is handling the matter under its student conduct code instead of treating it as a criminal case.

According to the university's crime log, as cited by FOX 29 and The Philadelphia Inquirer, the alleged assault took place at about 2:30 a.m. Saturday. The complex sits in the 1700 block of 10th Street, on the stretch bounded by Montgomery and Cecil B. Moore avenues. The Inquirer said the student brought the allegation to Temple on Tuesday. 6abc reported the complex is roughly two blocks from campus police and lies within the area Temple officers patrol.

The Inquirer noted the log entry described the case as referred to the conduct code, unlike most entries, which typically show an active police investigation or an arrest. FOX 29 reported that no one has been arrested and law enforcement has not publicly named any suspect.

Temple President John Fry, in a Wednesday statement, declined to address details of the case. He said the decision to seek criminal charges belongs to the student making the report, and that Temple pairs those who want to go to police with a victim advocate. "Temple respects a student's decision and does not make it for them," Fry said in the statement, which 6abc published. He also said the conduct process runs separately from any police work.

The university did not send a TU Alert. Steve Orbanek, a Temple communications official, told FOX 29 the school reviewed what it knew and concluded the community faced no imminent danger. Fry pointed out that the report appears on Temple's public crime log.

Kristen Ebner-Lives, who lives in the complex, told FOX 29 she heard about the allegation from her mother, who had seen it on Facebook. "I didn't see anything from the school or emails or anything," she said.

The case surfaces soon after Temple set up a Sexual Assault Advisory Group made up of students, faculty and staff, which Fry announced Oct. 3, 6abc reported. Both 6abc and the Inquirer linked the group's creation to national attention over a sexual assault allegation at Cornell University. Fry said the panel will examine Temple's policies and messaging, along with how the school works with Philadelphia police on such cases.

LaQuisha Anthony of the Philadelphia Center Against Sexual Violence told 6abc that sexual assaults on college campuses have historically risen between August and November, a stretch advocates call the red zone.

6abc reported there is no clear timeline for when the university's inquiry will conclude.

Compiled by True News from reporting by CBS Philadelphia, FOX 29 Philadelphia, The Philadelphia Inquirer and 6abc Action News. Each outlet's original story is linked below.

Originally published by True News: https://truenews.bagleyenterprises.net/stories/133