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Home > Police And Security > Campus Security Policies > Sexual Assault Policy

Student Sexual Assault
Policy 1-31

I. Purpose:
    The college is committed to maintaining an environment that creates the freedom for each individual to live, think, act, and speak without fear of physical, emotional, and psychological harm.

    In compliance with this commitment and the policies of the VCCS regarding sexual misconduct, the college establishes the following sexual assault policy for students of J. Sargeant Reynolds Community College. This policy is applicable to students on the college's campuses and at off-campus facilities.
II. Policy:

    J. Sargeant Reynolds Community College will not tolerate sexual assault in any form including acquaintance rape. Sexual assault is a serious violation of the college's regulations, punishable through sanctions, as described in Section C-3 of this policy. Moreover, it is a crime subject to both criminal and civil legal actions. Students who violate this policy will have college charges processed against them in the normal manner of due process provided by college rules.
III. Procedures:

    A. Definitions - Sexual assault occurs when a person is subjected to any of the following acts against her/his will, either by force, threat, intimidation, or through use of the victim's mental or physical helplessness of which the accused was aware or should have been aware.

    Sexual assault includes: rape, forcible sodomy, sexual penetration with an inanimate object, fondling or touching an unwilling person's genitalia, groin, breast, or buttocks, or forcing an unwilling person to touch another's intimate parts (genitalia, groin, breast, or buttocks). More specifically, sexual assault includes acquaintance rape/sexual assault defined as any aforementioned acts undertaken by a friend or acquaintance without consent, such as when the victim is physically or mentally incapacitated by alcohol or other drugs.

    B. Options - The college encourages all members of the college community to be aware of both the consequences of sexual assault and the options available to victims of sexual assault. The college urges a victim of sexual assault to seek assistance from any appropriate resource.

    A victim of sexual assault has a number of options for redress:

      1. She/he may file a complaint using the college Discipline Process described below.

      2. The complainant may request that the college conduct mediation between the complainant and the respondent, giving them the opportunity to confront one another and discuss the incident.

      3. The complainant may report the incident to the local law enforcement agency who will consider the case and decide whether to prosecute. In this option, the state accuses the alleged perpetrator, but the complainant may serve as a witness for the state.

      4. The complainant may file a civil suit against the respondent for monetary damages.

      The sexual assault policy at J. Sargeant Reynolds Community College addresses infractions that occur on the college's campuses and at off-campus locations. Decisions made through the college policy will take a subordinate role to judicial decisions.

    C. College Discipline Process

    1. Filing a complaint - Any student who believes he/she has been a victim of sexual assault by a J. Sargeant Reynolds Community College student or J. Sargeant Reynolds Community College personnel shall file a complaint with the dean of Student Development Services on the campus where the alleged assault took place.

      a. Level 1 - Within ten (10) calendar days of receiving a complaint, the dean must notify the respondent that a complaint has been filed and schedule a Level 1 meeting between the respondent and the complainant. All parties shall be notified of the date, time, and place of this meeting. At this initial meeting the complainant shall be allowed to introduce evidence and other facts concerning the complaint to the dean. The respondent shall be allowed to rebut this evidence. Within ten (10) working days following this meeting, the dean shall render a decision, which shall be limited to one of the following:

      (1) The complaint is dismissed due to the lack of evidence or based on a conclusion that the act complained of did not constitute sexual assault; or

      (2) The complaint warrants further investigation and the dean submits her/his findings to the college's Sexual Misconduct Committee for further investigate and inquiry.

      Any persons participating in the Level 1 meeting shall be ineligible to serve on the Sexual Misconduct Committee.

      b. Level 2 - The respondent and the complainant have the right to appeal the Level 1 decision in the event the decision was not satisfactory to either party.

      In order to proceed to Level 2, the respondent or complainant must file a written request with the campus provost/dean within ten (10) calendar days after receipt of a decision in Level 1. A copy of this request shall be sent to the other party. The campus provost/dean shall, within twenty (20) days upon receipt of this request, convene the Sexual Misconduct Committee in order to hear evidence and facts related to the charges of sexual assault. The campus provost/dean shall notify the respondent or complainant in writing within ten (10) working days of the scheduled meeting.

      A Level 2 appeal shall be before a Sexual Misconduct Committee appointed by the Executive Committee. Sexual Misconduct Committee members will be college wide and serve for a full one-year period. The Sexual Misconduct Committee will consist of six (6) members, drawn from a pool of three classified staff members, three administrative positions, three faculty, and three students. The committee will include at least one (1) member from each group. A provost/dean will serve as the chairman of the Sexual Misconduct Committee. Her/his appointment will be made by the president for a one-year term. The chair will be responsible for seeing that each member of the committee receives appropriate training.

      The Level 2 committee may receive evidence and facts from both the respondent and the complainant. Within ten (10) business days from the conclusion of the meeting, the chairman shall notify, in writing, the president, the respondent, and the complainant of the committee's finding, which shall include recommendation for sanctions, if appropriate. All decisions of the president shall be final with no appeal.

    2. Right to Counsel - The complainant and respondent may retain legal counsel to be present at any stage of these proceedings in order to advise them; however, counsel shall not be allowed to question either party or other witnesses. Notwithstanding the foregoing, the dean at the Level 1 proceeding or the chairman of the Sexual Misconduct Committee at the Level 2 appeal may allow full representation, including rights of cross examination, when it appears necessary to do so based on the inability of the complainant or respondent to represent themselves adequately. In the event the complainant or respondent intend to have their attorneys present at either or both the Level 1 or Level 2 proceedings, they shall immediately notify the dean at Level 1 or the chairman of the Sexual Misconduct Committee at Level 2 who shall so inform the other party. With both parties' permission, the complainant or respondent may bring with them to the Level 1 and Level 2 proceedings observers who shall not testify nor present any evidence.

    3. Sanctions - The following sanctions may be imposed:

      a. Admonition: An oral or written statement to a student that he/she is violating or has violated college rules and may be subject to more severe disciplinary action.

      b. Disciplinary Probation: Exclusion from the privilege of participation in extracurricular activity of the college, including the holding of any student office, for a period of time not exceeding one school year.

      c. Suspension: Exclusion from attending the college for an indefinite period. The conditions of readmission, if any, will be stated in the order of suspension.

      d. Dismissal: Termination of student status for an indefinite period. The conditions of readmission, if any, will be stated in the order of dismissal.

      e. Interim Suspension: If, in the opinion of the president, the presence of a student pending a hearing poses a serious threat, the president may suspend her/him immediately. In such a situation, a hearing shall be held at the earliest reasonable time.

    4. Confidentiality: All complaints, responses, and other papers created pursuant to these guidelines shall be kept confidential. All written materials related to a complaint will be maintained under seal in a separate folder and not within the respondent's personnel file. However, upon a final decision that sexual assault has occurred, disciplinary action may include filing a copy of the decision in the student's file or in the employee's personnel file.

    All complaints, responses, and other papers created pursuant to these guidelines are not to be released to any individual or administrative authority at the college other than the complainant, the respondent, the chair of the Sexual Misconduct Committee, the campus dean of Student Development Services, and the college president. In the event that formal litigation or external complaint procedures require disclosure, it may be necessary for the college to comply with formal requests for such records under subpoena. These records may be considered in the event that other formal complaints are filed against the same individual during that period. Records will be maintained by the dean of Student Development Services for a period of five years from the date received.

    Both complainant and respondent have a right not to have his or her unrelated past sexual history included in any part of the campus proceedings. The proceedings officers or chair of the committee will ensure compliance with this requirement.

    D. Education and Prevention: The college is pledged in every way possible to help any and all students achieve a realistic understanding of the ill effects of sexual assault for themselves, victims, and society. Above and beyond potential disciplinary action resulting from sexual assault, the college recognizes the need and responsibility to provide information and counseling services regarding sexual assault. The following activities and services shall be offered at J. Sargeant Reynolds Community College in an effort to prevent sexual assault. Counseling and information is provided by the college in the following ways:

      1. The "J. Sargeant Reynolds Community College Resources for Dealing with Sexual Assault" brochure.

      2. Information on sexual assault shall be included in the college's general orientation course (STD 100).

      3. In an effort to ensure that students, faculty, and staff are informed regarding sexual assault, the Downtown, Parham Road, and Western campuses will present seminars, workshops, presentations, or other programs of information and awareness, which will be given to the entire college community.

      4. Each campus of the college will post appropriate announcements about presentations, services, seminars, etc., that may be available in the community regarding sexual assault.

      5. Each campus counseling center at the college will maintain a list of referral services that specialize in sexual assault. Students requesting assistance will be referred to the appropriate public agencies, making every effort to protect the individual's confidentiality.
IV. Other Information: N/A

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