On October 4th Everett Community College issue the following security notification:
EvCC Alert – Oct. 4, 2018
EvCC security is alerting campus that a woman reported that at around 7:30 a.m. on Sept. 25 a man came up behind her in parking lot E across from Whitehorse Hall, hit her bottom, grabbed her chest, and forced her to kiss him. The incident has been reported to Everett police. A description of the man is not known at this time.
Security is increasing patrols of EvCC parking lots and encouraging students, faculty, and staff to be aware of their surroundings and report any suspicious activity. Security is available to provide escorts to and from vehicles on campus. To arrange for a security escort, call 425-388-9990.
EvCC urges anyone who is a victim of a crime or knows anything about this incident to contact Everett police and notify campus security.
Anyone who has experienced sexual assault at EvCC can also confidentially report to the college’s Title IX office and find out more about support available at EverettCC.edu/TitleIX.
You are receiving this notification in compliance with the Clery Act and because you are part of the Everett Community College community.
Since the incident occurred on September 25th but wasn’t made public on October 4th many people raised questions. Today Everett Community College released the following:
Update from EvCC Campus Safety, Security, and Emergency Management – Oct. 10, 2018
Good morning,
I want to update you about the assault in parking lot E near Whitehorse Hall on Sept. 25 and the college’s response. An investigation into the assault is on-going. Please continue to be aware of your surroundings and report suspicious activity.
Timeline
Sept. 25, sometime between 6:45 a.m. and 7:30 a.m. – A man came up behind a female EvCC student in parking lot E across from Whitehorse Hall, slapped her rear, grabbed her chest, and forced a kiss on her mouth.
Sept. 27 – EvCC is first notified of the incident. Security receives a written statement from the student. She is asked if she wants to file a report with the Everett police, and she declines. An internal miscommunication occurs inside the Security office.
Oct. 3 – During a late afternoon weekly meeting including Security, Title IX, and Student Services staff to recap and discuss student and safety issues on campus, the team catches the miscommunication. Security researches the issue and identifies the student’s written statement.
Oct. 4. – Security and Title IX agree that a notice to the campus is warranted and inform college leadership. College Advancement (the college’s communications office) sends a notification via email to students, faculty, and staff and social media at 10:31 a.m. Security notifies Everett police about the assault withholding the student’s name per her request.
Oct. 8 – Security, Title IX, and Student Services personnel meet to debrief about the incident.
Additional Information
Security has communicated with all officers to reinforce expectations and added a new safeguard to its protocol to reduce the possibility of human error. Every officer has been trained on the revised protocol. Additional training is planned.
This incident took place during the first week of Fall Quarter, the busiest time of the year when students are returning to campus and our team is serving a large influx of students. If the incident had not occurred during the first week, we expect the issue would have been caught quickly. Fortunately, we were able to catch the issue in our weekly meeting and inform campus.
EvCC has invested significantly in the past two years in our safety infrastructure, including adding new officers to the team, expanding Title IX training across campus, renovating our Security office to improve student safety and service, and developing and training an Emergency Management Team to improve the college’s readiness for campus emergencies.
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John Bonner
Vice President
Corporate & Workforce Training | Campus Safety & Security
Everett Community College
October 10, 2018
Everett