A judge is determining whether Southern Adventist University will have to turn over student records in a rape case involving two former full-time students and an alleged incident that went unreported for more than two years.
The subpoenas issued by the defense to gain the confidential student records of the accuser -- medical documents, extracurricular activities, visits with guidance counselors -- are the first court developments to tie legally the school in Collegedale to the accusation.
The reported victim, who discusses the alleged assault in a YouTube video, "To My Terrorist," is a self-described "sex educator" with suggestive-monologue videos on YouTube about graphic topics.
The "To My Terrorist" video, a project the accuser said she did to bring attention to rape, has received more than 1.4 million page views, according to the site.
"That video had a cathartic effect on me," said the accuser, who is not named in this article in accordance with the Chattanooga Times Free Press' policy regarding alleged victims of sexual assault.
The alleged incident, which the accuser says occurred off the Southern Adventist campus in 2004, went unreported until 2006, when she filed a report with the Hamilton County Sheriff's Office.
In 2007, a Hamilton County grand jury indicted her accused attacker and former boyfriend, Rajiv Gomer, charging him with one count of felony rape. He now lives in Washington, D.C.
In the absence of physical evidence, authorities instead used a taped conversation between the accuser and Mr. Gomer, who allegedly forcibly sodomized her in an apartment on Jenkins Road.
Mr. Gomer could not be reached for comment. His Chattanooga attorney, Kelli Black, has declined comment on the case but, during a hearing in February, questioned the accuser about conflicting statements she made regarding a separate allegation against another man.
In that hearing, Ms. Black also questioned why the accuser waited so long to report the crime and suggested that a therapist in Chattanooga might have influenced the accuser's actions.
The accuser also told the Times Free Press that Southern Adventist personnel did nothing to help her when she first started talking to professors about the alleged rape, something she didn't do until two years after the alleged incident.
Declining to comment specifically about the case, Ingrid Skantz, director of marketing and university relations at Southern Adventist, said the school "deeply cares" about everyone who attends.
"The well-being of our students is very important to us," Ms. Skantz said.
Southern Adventist's current student handbook indicates that it is "inappropriate for students of the opposite gender who are not married to each other to spend the night together. Students who engage in such behavior will be subject to discipline."
Hamilton County Criminal Court Judge Rebecca Stern is expected to rule on Sept. 14 about the subpoenas sent to Southern Adventist. Judge Stern already has ruled that the university at least must submit the accuser's medical records.
"The reported victim...is a self-described 'sex educator' with suggestive-monologue videos on YouTube about graphic topics.
...The 'To My Terrorist' video, a project the accuser said she did to bring attention to rape, has received more than 1.4 million page views, according to the site."
Please explain to me why this portion of the story is necessary in the public interest of solving this case? I find it irrelevant to the validity of her charge whether not she: a) made a video at all b) how many views it received c) what her "self-described" profession is.
Furthermore, this segment of your article has no relevance to its title and purpose, which is presumably interested in reporting the involvement of Southern Adventist University.
I find the entire tone of this article absolutely disgusting, but the real cherry on the top is the following paragraph:
[Southern Adventist's current student handbook indicates that it is "inappropriate for students of the opposite gender who are not married to each other to spend the night together. Students who engage in such behavior will be subject to discipline."]
Is this meant to imply that the victim is somehow at fault, that had she obeyed these archaic rules, she wouldn't have been raped? Yes, by all means, send the message that women should closet themselves away and be segregated for their own safety. It's not like men can control themselves, so better not invite their attentions. You'll only have yourselves to blame, ladies(!)
And the fact that a WOMAN wrote this article just makes me want to puke.
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