BishopAccountability.org
	Notre Dame: "This Investigation Had Integrity" By Margaret Fosmoe South Bend Tribune December 26, 2010 http://www.southbendtribune.com/article/20101226/News01/12260305/-1/googleNews University President Jenkins breaks silence on Seeberg allegations SOUTH BEND — Breaking his silence, the Rev. John I. Jenkins is defending the integrity of the University of Notre Dame's investigation of a sexual battery allegation against a student football player by a female student who later committed suicide. "I cannot stand by and allow the integrity of Notre Dame to be challenged so publicly. The values at issue go to the very heart of who and what we are at Notre Dame," the university president said last week during an interview in his office. Notre Dame Security Police conducted a "thorough and judicious investigation that followed the facts where they led and exhibited the integrity that I believe characterizes this institution," Jenkins said. Notre Dame has been denounced in the media and the blogosphere in recent weeks by news reports and commentaries about the case concerning Elizabeth "Lizzy" Seeberg, 19, a Saint Mary's College student from Northbrook, Ill., who committed suicide Sept. 10 by overdosing on prescription medication. Tom and Mary Seeberg, the young woman's parents, told the Chicago Tribune they feel betrayed by Notre Dame's handling of the case, Jenkins' refusal to respond to their request for transparency and their inability to obtain some campus records related to their daughter's accusations. The Seebergs did not respond to interview requests from the South Bend Tribune. "We spent a lot of time hoping they would live their values in this case," Tom Seeberg said in an interview last week with ABC News. "Live their values of sharing what they could about the investigation and live their values by trying to give Lizzy a voice in the University of Notre Dame disciplinary process." Lizzy Seeberg battled depression and an anxiety disorder, her parents have said. When a campus police officer interviewed Seeberg on Sept. 1, the officer was made aware of the young woman's history of depression and the fact that she was taking Effexor, according to Notre Dame spokesman Dennis Brown. Effexor is a medication used for treatment of depression and anxiety. Seeberg's suicide came nine days after she reported to Notre Dame Security Police that a student athlete had touched her breasts while they were alone in his dormitory room. Under Indiana law, touching another person without consent for purposes of sexual gratification meets the definition of sexual battery, a felony. Player may face discipline In an unprecedented move, Jenkins agreed to speak about some aspects of the Seeberg investigation, the police delay in interviewing the player, and why he says he can't meet with the grieving parents. With the criminal inquiry now closed, Jenkins said the player and the player's friend still may face disciplinary action by Notre Dame's office of residence life — the player for his alleged actions of Aug. 31, and the male friend for allegedly sending text messages Sept. 2 to Seeberg, including one saying, "Messing with notre dame football is a bad idea," according to news reports. According to du Lac, Notre Dame's handbook of student life, any threat of retaliation or other attempt to prevent the report of an incident of sexual misconduct is prohibited and will result in disciplinary sanctions. In disciplinary cases, a penalty ordered by Residence Life may be appealed: first to the Rev. Thomas Doyle, vice president for student affairs, and ultimately to Jenkins if a disciplinary hearing board recommends the student be suspended or expelled. As a result, Jenkins said, neither Doyle nor he can meet with the Seebergs to discuss the family's concerns. And that's why neither has read a Nov. 19 letter written by Tom Seeberg and forwarded through his attorney, Jenkins said. "I'm the ultimate court of appeal in disciplinary matters," Jenkins said. "And consequently, I try to remain somewhat distant so I'm not tainted by one side or another presenting their side of the story." Doyle met Tom Seeberg at a Sept. 13 memorial Mass for Lizzy Seeberg at Saint Mary's, and he has spoken to the Seebergs 12 to 15 times on the telephone, sometimes in lengthy conversations, according to Brown. Most of the conversations were to provide the Seebergs updates on the status of the investigation, to ask them what they felt they wanted and needed, and to provide support, Brown said. Doyle was not available for a Tribune interview. In the ABC News interview, Tom Seeberg said Lizzy had wanted to pursue campus disciplinary action against the player and that the family wants to carry out her wishes. Under Notre Dame's campus policies, only university administrators or an alleged student victim — not a parent — may seek campus disciplinary action, Brown said. Tom Seeberg's letter has been passed on to the university's general counsel and the police investigator. With the criminal investigation closed, evidence about the two male students' actions now is under internal review by the university, Jenkins said. "We will decide whether to proceed with an internal procedure with respect to university regulations and whether they were transgressed," he said. To read Notre Dame's student code of conduct, see orlh.nd.edu/dulac. A careful investigation' Jenkins also addressed the issue of why the police investigator didn't interview the accused player until Sept. 15, two weeks after Seeberg reported the incident and five days after her suicide. "Anybody looking at some of the facts of the timeline has to reach the conclusion that this wasn't a serious investigation," Tom Seeberg told ABC News, noting the two-week delay. Seeberg submitted two accounts of the events of Aug. 31, Jenkins said. One was a handwritten statement on Sept. 1, and the other was a longer, typed account e-mailed on Sept. 5. "There were discrepancies in these two complaints that required some careful evaluation. And that was done," the priest said. "Could we have acted more quickly? Yes, we could have acted more quickly, perhaps, and that's an area we could improve on," Jenkins said. "But I would emphasize this: In a case like this, care in the investigation is more important than speed." Jenkins disagrees with the Seebergs' claim that the investigation was superficial. "That's simply not true. This was a thorough, careful, impartial investigation. And if it had been handled superficially, if it had been inadequate, the prosecutor — whose job it is to review that investigation, to decide whether the investigation is inadequate — could have called for more inquiry or further evidence," he said. Prosecutor Michael Dvorak last week declined a Tribune interview request, saying he stands by a written statement he issued explaining why he could not file criminal charges. No charges The prosecutor's written explanation said Seeberg's suicide made her statements to police inadmissible in court because they would be considered hearsay evidence. Dvorak also said Seeberg's written statement conflicted with the accounts of three other students and that the cell phone records were inconsistent with Seeberg's claims. Lizzy Seeberg's recollections of Aug. 31 are detailed in her typed Sept. 5 statement, a copy of which was obtained by the South Bend Tribune. The young woman said she and the player went to his room that evening, along with a male friend of the player's and that friend's girlfriend, who was also Seeberg's friend, according to the statement. Seeberg wrote that it appeared as though the player and his friend were communicating with their cell phones shortly before the other couple abruptly left the room. Alone with the player, Seeberg started feeling uncomfortable with the conversation. "I started feeling as though I was in danger," she wrote. "I didn't feel safe in his room." Seeberg wrote that she reached for her phone to text her female friend to come back but that the player stopped her. "He then proceeded to grab my face and started to kiss me. Tears started to roll down my face because I didn't know what I should do and I was extremely scared," she wrote. He then touched her breasts and pulled down her tank top by the straps, Seeberg wrote. The incident ended when the player received a call or text on his cell phone and he "violently threw me off of him to the side," she wrote. About a minute later, the other couple returned to the room, according to the statement. Seeberg wrote that she had consumed two beers that evening and that the player "forcibly told me to drink an open beer" when they were alone in his room. "Though I wouldn't consider myself drunk, I definitely felt the effect of the three beers I had that night," she wrote. Seeberg's account states she and the other male student each had beer that evening, but that neither her female friend nor the player had a drink. Some media reports have stated Seeberg accused the player of raping her, but her statement makes no such claim. Chicago attorney Joseph A. Power Jr., who is representing the player, said Thursday he is working to halt defamatory claims that have been reported about the young man in news reports and on Internet websites. There was no rape, attempted rape or allegation of rape, Power said. All that happened and all that Seeberg alleged was kissing above the waist, the attorney said. His client says the activity was consensual. "He did nothing wrong and nothing to violate the code of conduct," Power said. Under Notre Dame's code of conduct, students who engage in sexual union outside of marriage may be subject to university sanction. Power said his client is very upset about various reports that he raped Seeberg or otherwise attacked her sexually. He and his client may resort to legal action to halt such false accusations, he said. "He did nothing wrong. He was a complete gentleman," the attorney said. Seeberg and the player had met each other only the previous day, on Aug. 30, according to Power. The evening of Aug. 31 was the first time the two spent any length of time in each other's company, the attorney said. Because the player has not been charged with a crime, the South Bend Tribune is not identifying him. He did not respond to requests for an interview. Claims regarding his identity have been widely mentioned in cyber chat rooms and in an Internet video that was taken down within a few days. The video showed a player's name and photo and claimed he raped Seeberg. Seeberg "never made an allegation of rape nor does the evidence even suggest a rape occurred as some media outlets have mistakenly reported," Dvorak said in his written statement. The South Bend Tribune typically does not publish the names of individuals who report they were victims of alleged sex crimes. The South Bend Tribune made the decision to report Lizzy Seeberg's name and her allegation of sexual battery in November, well after her suicide and shortly after the sex crime allegation had been widely reported by other news organizations. Campus police Notre Dame Security Police is a fully authorized Indiana police agency that includes sworn officers who carry guns, have arrest powers and investigate all levels of cases. Two current detectives are trained in sex crime investigations, including the detective who handled the Seeberg case, Brown said. Administrators declined to identify that officer but said he is a former South Bend Police Department detective with more than 35 years of law enforcement experience. This is not the first time Notre Dame has faced a high-profile sex crime accusation against a student athlete. In a 1996 case, a Notre Dame female student reported to university officials that she was raped by two football players in a campus residence hall. Both players remained active on the team while the investigation proceeded. The female student testified at a closed campus disciplinary hearing regarding the players' actions, but the hearing panel exonerated the men. The woman and the two players later graduated. News reports at the time indicated that the female student did not file a police report. In a March 2002 case, a Notre Dame female student reported to police she was raped by four football players in a house east of campus. All four men were expelled from the university in early May of that year for sexual misconduct. The criminal case was investigated by county police. Prosecutor Chris Toth filed felony rape charges against the four men. One of them, Abram Elam, was convicted of sexual battery and placed on probation for two years. Another was tried and acquitted. Charges against the other two were dismissed. During Elam's 2003 trial, the accuser testified that William Kirk, then associate vice president for residence life, had advised her not to go to the police, a claim Kirk and other Notre Dame leaders have denied. Still on the field Notre Dame has been criticized for allowing the accused player to continue playing while the investigation proceeded. He is scheduled to suit up for Friday's Sun Bowl game. Jenkins said students accused of misconduct generally aren't suspended from school or extracurricular activities while the investigation proceeds. Each such case is considered individually, Brown said. If Notre Dame officials receive allegations of serious violence that represents a danger to others on campus, they will act, he said. "Everyone deserves due process. Everyone deserves an investigation where facts are considered fairly and impartially," Jenkins said. When a student is charged with a felony, the university reserves the right to suspend him or her. And any student convicted of a felony may be temporarily or permanently dismissed. Jenkins said the Seeberg case wasn't handled any differently because the accused student happened to be a football player. "I'm confident that this investigation had integrity, that no one was treated partially in any way, certainly not the person who is a student athlete," he said. Jenkins said Notre Dame sometimes is criticized for being too harsh or too strict with student athletes. "I don't believe we are, but I do believe we hold them accountable, just as we hold accountable every student," he said. The priest didn't make reference to it, but shortly after Charlie Weis was fired as Notre Dame's head football coach a year ago, Weis criticized the office of residence life, saying it's too strict about enforcing campus rules on football players. Weis called that office "the biggest problem on campus relative to the football program." "I think if you took a poll of the students at Notre Dame on what's the biggest negative issue, I would bet at least 50 percent of them would say, 'Residence Life,'?" the former coach said. Forwarding cases Notre Dame traditionally forwards the results of campus sexual assault investigations to the prosecutor's office only if the victim states he or she wants to pursue criminal charges and is willing to testify. In this case, Seeberg apparently hadn't made a decision about that before her death. This case was handled somewhat differently. After meeting with two attorneys for the Seebergs on Nov. 17, Notre Dame general counsel Marianne Corr ordered that the police investigation file be delivered to the prosecutor's office that day, Brown said. University leaders are discussing whether a change in procedure should be made, such as forwarding the results of all such investigations to the prosecutor, Jenkins said. "We try to give the victim in the case control," Brown said. If criminal charges are filed, a victim might be required to testify, and some might not want to go through that process, Jenkins said. No final decision has been made. When asked whether he had any regrets about the handling of the Seeberg case, Jenkins said: "There are things we could have done better. You can always improve. In certain respects, we could have acted more quickly." He said he remains confident in the fundamental integrity of the university's response. "We conducted an investigation that was judicious and fair to all parties involved. We grieve for the Seebergs and for the loss of their daughter," the priest said. "At the same time, we have to follow the facts where they lead, and we have to be solicitous for other students and treat them fairly and base any determination on the facts." Staff writer Margaret Fosmoe: mfosmoe@sbtinfo.com or 574-235-6329
Any original material on these pages is copyright © BishopAccountability.org 2004. Reproduce freely with attribution.