Former NIC student reports sexual assault
A former North Idaho College student has reported she was sexually assaulted while attending the school in 2010.
In a statement given to a police investigator in Coeur d’Alene last February, the woman said she was raped and forced to perform sexual acts against her will while in Las Vegas with the wrestling team. She was 19 at the time, and as the team’s manager, she took stats at all the meets and tournaments.
Before speaking to police, the woman reported the incident to a counselor at Safe Passage in Coeur d’Alene, a nonprofit that advocates and provides services to victims of sexual violence. The initial call to police was made by someone at Safe Passage.
She reported the incident to The Coeur d’Alene Press Nov. 30.
“I am bringing this story to the public because I do not want another person to be targeted and assaulted at NIC,” she told The Press in an email. “...The guilt I endure as a survivor of rape that did not report is huge. I can no longer live while being silent.”
She said, in a phone interview, that when the incident occurred she felt as if “no one at the college cared.” An athletic trainer “knew it was about to happen and didn’t do anything,” she said.
The Press confirmed the men accused by the woman — a wrestler and an assistant coach — are no longer attending or working at NIC.
No arrests have been made, and it’s unlikely they will be. According to the police report, the woman’s statement was taken by police in Coeur d’Alene with the intent it would be sent to the Las Vegas Police Department. She said police in Las Vegas were unable to move forward with an investigation.
“Because the statute of limitations in Nevada is four years. I came forward at the five-year mark,” she wrote.
The community college issued the following statement Friday regarding the incident:
“On Dec. 1, 2016, North Idaho College was made aware of a sexual assault allegation from 2010. The college opened an official Title IX investigation the same day the report was made. NIC will continue to fully investigate the allegation. NIC remains committed to maintaining a safe campus environment for all students, employees and visitors.”
The woman told The Press the college was notified of the incident much earlier. She said her father reported it to NIC in 2014.
“The president at the time responded to my dad and said they would start looking into it, but nothing more has come of the situation until now,” the woman wrote.
This is the second time this year a former student has charged she was sexually assaulted while enrolled at NIC.
Attorneys for the community college’s insurer just settled a civil lawsuit involving a former student who claimed she was sexually assaulted while intoxicated at an off-campus party in 2013. That lawsuit accused NIC of violating the requirements of Title IX by failing to respond to the student’s reports of the sexual assault or take corrective action. Title IX is the federal civil rights law that prohibits federally funded education programs from discriminating on the basis of sex. A federal judge agreed to the terms of the settlement on Dec. 6. The suit was settled for $75,000 and dismissed with prejudice. NIC did not admit to any wrongdoing.