News

Actions

Sexual assault reported at Elizabeth City State University

Posted at 5:34 PM, Sep 13, 2016
and last updated 2016-09-14 19:22:06-04

ELIZABETH CITY, N.C. - A sexual assault was reported Saturday, according to a spokesperson with Elizabeth City State University.

The incident is reported to have happened around 2 a.m. on September 10 in the campus dorms called Viking Village.

The Elizabeth City State University Police Chief John Manley tells News 3, the victim wasn't a student. He said she me the man the night of the alleged assault.

There aren't any charges or arrests, but Chief Manley says he has interviewed the person the victim has identified as the suspect.

He also has been interviewing the victim and witnesses.

"I have a set of facts from the victim, a set from the witness, and the suspect. All that information has to be carefully reevaluated and reviewed," Chief Manley said.

Manley took over three years ago, when the former university police chief Sam Beamon was found guilty of not properly investigating nearly 80 crimes reported to campus police. Twelve of those crimes were sexual assaults.

Manley says that's in the past.

"We take sexual assaults of violence very seriously. It's not something you're going to push to the side. It's something you put as much resources as you can behind to make sure that both victim and suspect are treated fairly in that process," he said.

While the chief is investigating the newest allegation, students who live in Viking Village are worried about who's lurking nearby.

"I'll probably be more aware than I am now. I'm not going somewhere by myself and take people with me," student Covonne Griffin said.

The spokesperson says “We take all allegations seriously and we take all investigations seriously."

Stay with News 3 for updates as this is a developing story.