A WRAL report stated that a Duke Hospital employee was sexually assaulted Sunday morning, but multiple administrators said Tuesday that the report was incorrect.
The WRAL story cites anonymous witnesses, who said that the employee was "choked, shoved to the ground and sexually assaulted." Michael Schoenfeld, vice president for government affairs and public relations, and Sarah Avery, media relations officer for The School of Medicine, said Tuesday afternoon that the report of sexual assault was inaccurate.
Schoenfeld noted that the reason no message was reported to students, faculty and staff under the Clery Act—which requires colleges and universities to provide timely notification to members of the university community of certain crimes reported on campus—was that the crime did not meet the criteria to be sent to the entire University community. Vice President of Administration Kyle Cavanaugh declined to comment on the criteria used to determine whether or not to send information to students, faculty and staff.
The official statement released by The School of Medicine notes that the employee reported Sunday morning at approximately 6 a.m. that “an unknown person put his arm around the employee’s neck and shoved the employee to the ground. Duke Police were immediately on the scene with additional security and continue to investigate the incident in close collaboration with the Durham Police Department.”
The suspect is described as a 5-foot-5 male with dark complexion, and was wearing red shorts and a white tank top.
According to the statement, site administrators updated staff within the hospital later Sunday morning and nursing leadership were made aware of what was known to employees. Monday evening, hospital directors and managers received an update on the situation.
Avery said that no other further information could be provided at this time.
This story was updated to include the information about Cavanaugh. Check back for updates on this developing story.
Get The Chronicle straight to your inbox
Signup for our weekly newsletter. Cancel at any time.