A series of alleged rapes on MSU's campus has brought the process of handling reported sexual assaults recent publicity.
After a sexual assault is reported, a variety of counselors, detectives and prosecutors are called into action, as an original police report branches out to various departments across the university and community, officials said.
An overwhelming number of sexual assaults are not reported at all, both nationally and at MSU, said Dennis Martell, Olin Health Center health educator.
Many people who have been assaulted but have not made reports come to Olin Health Center's HIV Education, Testing and Counseling Program, Martell said.
"They want to find out what has happened anonymously," Martell said.
If Olin workers suspect a student has been sexually assaulted, they offer themselves as a gateway to other services, such as counseling, Martell said.
"Often people don't seek counseling for months or even years," said Holly Rosen, director of MSU Safe Place. "We live in a culture that is quick to victim-blame. People are going to look down on them, even though they've done nothing wrong."
Students who report assaults to MSU police receive a resource pack, which encourages counseling and other recovery options.
For the small percentage of victims who do report rape, their cases are then turned over to detectives, MSU police Sgt. Florene McGlothian-Taylor said. The detectives interview the accuser, witnesses and suspects, then submit their report to the county prosecutor.
The amount of interviews and paperwork is why even acquaintance rapes with an identified suspect can take time to process.
The Ingham County prosecutor looks at the case and might issue a warrant. Police then make an arrest, as in the case of MSU freshman Travis Eichten, who was accused of raping a floormate in Emmons Hall earlier this month.
Both accuser and accused present their cases at a preliminary exam, where a judge determines whether there is enough evidence to go to trial, said Barb Walkington, therapist with the MSU Sexual Assault Program.
The victim may speak during a trial, held at either East Lansing's 54-B District Court or Ingham County's Circuit Court, and must make an impact statement prior to sentencing in a guilty verdict.
"They're sympathetic to the statement," Walkington said. "It's very healing."
Victims may also set the campus judicial system in motion, determining the student's status at the university.
"There's the assumption the criminal justice process and campus judicial system are one in the same, and they're not," said Rick Shafer, associate director of Student Life and Judicial Affairs.
MSU students file a complaint through Student Life. A hearing may be held, and the accused could receive anything from a warning to a suspension.
"In victim-related issues, we are extra sensitive to the desires and needs of the victim," Shafer said.
For more information on sexual assault, visit www.msu.edu/~wrc.
To report a sexual assault in East Lansing, call (517) 351-4220. To report a sexual assault on campus, call (517) 355-2221.
