Image Courtesy of the Department of Public Safety
Two new sexual crimes have been reported on campus, increasing the total of reported sexual crimes this semester to seven.
The sixth report, one of “sexual battery,” was made on Feb. 7. According to the report, the event took place between Oct. 1 and Oct. 31, 2018 on the Lausanne Campus.
The seventh report, one of “sexual battery,” was made on March 14. According to the report, the event took place March 14 in Drescher Apartments. (see #7 on map)
The first report, published in the Jan. 24 edition of the Graphic, was one of “forcible rape, including date rape and sexual battery.” According to the report, the event took place Jan. 15 at Alumni Park and was reported to DPS on Jan. 16. (see #1 on map)
The second report, published in the Jan. 31 edition of the Graphic, was one of “sexual battery.” According to the report, the event took place Jan. 14 in Knott House and was reported to DPS on Jan. 25. (see #2 on map)
The third report, published in the Feb. 7 edition of the Graphic, was reported Jan. 28 but took place Oct. 10, 2018 in Knott House and was a case of “sexual battery.” (see #3 on map)
The fourth report, published in the Feb. 14 edition of the Graphic, was reported and took place on Feb. 2, 2018 in Seaside Residence Hall and was a case of “sexual battery,” among other crimes. (see #4 on map)
The fifth report, published in the Feb. 14 edition of the Graphic, was reported Feb. 7 but took place between Jan. 17 and Jan. 24, 2019 on the Lausanne Campus and was a case of “sexual battery.”
The university states, “The incident in Lausanne is a matter in process of being addressed by the University. The Drescher incident is related to the Timely Warning issued on Thursday, March 14, 2019. The University is monitoring the matter however, the investigation has been turned over to local law enforcement.”
The Timely Warning was distributed via email the evening of March 14 to the Pepperdine community, warning individuals to be vigilant of a college-aged man, Jonathan Pope. Pope is not a Pepperdine student.
He was reported to have “touched [a female student] in an unwanted and unwelcome manner … when she allowed Mr. Pope to use a phone charger in her on-campus residence,” according to the email. The email encouraged community members to report any sightings of Pope or other information to DPS.
Photo Courtesy of the Department of Public Safety
While sexual assault is “any type of sexual contact or behavior that occurs without the explicit consent of the recipient,” sexual battery is “an unwanted form of contact with an intimate part of the body that is made for the purposes of sexual arousal, gratification or abuse,” and can include intimidation or threats, according to Her Campus at VCU.
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Follow Madeleine Carr on Twitter: @madeleinecarr23
