Sexual assaults on campus of UNCC nearly doubled in 2018, report says

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Sexual assaults on the campus of the University of North Carolina at Charlotte nearly doubled last year, according to a university crime report.

Channel 9 dug through the school's yearly crime report and noticed an increase in sexual assaults in 2018. Most of the rapes happened on campus or in a residence hall.

"I'm surprised I didn't know that was occurring on campus," UNCC student James Granberry said.

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According to the report, in 2017, university police investigated six rapes on campus with five of those occurring in a dorm. In 2018, numbers jumped to 13 rapes on campus with 12 of those occurring in dorms.

There was also one case on what officials classified as "public property."

In March 2018, police said David Kenney sexually assaulted three women and raped a student within a span of four hours.

UNCC police Captain Sarah Smyre said many of the numbers came from campus security authorities, which are campus partners like the Title 9 office or counseling center.

If the assault is recorded by a campus partner, Channel 9 learned the information about the victim is limited, but campus police can piece together similarities like when and where it happened.

Campus police will only investigate sex assaults if the victim wants them to.

"They're able to get the services they need without having to go through the stigma of having to file a police report," Smyre said.

In the most recent cases, the victims and perpetrators almost always knew each other.

"No is no, and i just feel like we need to understand that," UNCC student Brittney Wilson said.

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Moving forward police are continuing to better target their outreach programs to inform students about the help that's available to them.

"When we see folks utilizing the resources available, we're glad to see that the message is getting out there," Smyre said.

Police told Channel 9 all the victims who reported their attacks were offered help and support.

If a sexual assault happens on campus and the suspect is unknown to the victim, campus police said they send out an emergency notification to students and staff.

Cox Media Group