ODU Police seek 2 persons of interest in sexual assault case

NORFOLK, Va. (WAVY) — Old Dominion University Police have questioned two people and are looking for two other persons of interest after receiving a report Sunday of a sexual assault and sexual battery, police said.

The incident happened on the 1300 block of 43rd Street after the victims accepted a ride by four individuals, not believed to be students, who they met at a party, police said. The driver of a black Jeep Compass pulled into an on-campus parking garage where the incident occurred.

Police located and questioned two persons of interest in this case and are now looking to identify two more individuals, who are pictured below:

One person of interest can be seen wearing a red/orange hat, a grey jacket with black and white letters on the back, black jeans, a beard and earrings, while the other can be seen wearing a white shirt, tan pants and glasses.

Police have stated the two individuals they have questioned have fully cooperated with authorities.

“We have been very fortunate that our community is very quick to contact us and give us information on the camera video evidence that we have also helps with that,” said ODU Police Chief Garrett Shelton. “It is certainly part of what moved this investigation forward to the place that we were able to identify at least two of the individuals so far.”

ODU Police Chief Garrett Shelton said the individuals aren’t believed to be students.

“It’s no secret that we’re right in the middle of an urban community,” Shelton said. “We encourage the openness of our campus. We have many assets, not just for our own students, faculty and staff, but for the community, and we want the community to take advantage of those assets and we are an asset to not only our community, but the state and beyond.”

Shelton said because they are an open campus, they work to patrol their outer perimeter and their concurrent jurisdiction and they make it known that they have a lot of cameras.

“I’m very quick to point out that we have over 2,400 cameras on campus,” Shelton said. “We capture people and things that happen in incidents when you come to campus, and that’s something I want the whole community to know is for comfort for those who come here, but also to discourage those who may choose to come here, if if you’re on our campus, there is a very good chance we will see you.”

Shelton said campus police officers are patrolling the area 24-hours per day. He said they encourage students to make sure that they know who they’re with and try not to be alone.

“I would encourage everyone to be aware of your surroundings, know who you’re with and where you are, try not to be alone,” Shelton said, “but if at any point that you feel uncomfortable or unsafe, just call us and we’ll come help you.”

After this incident, 10 On Your Side asked ODU students if they feel safe on campus.

“I don’t feel safe because it’s like, we do have police presence on campus, but incidents like this do still happen,” one woman said, “so it does make us a little extra vigilant when we should really be focusing on our school work — it’s scary.”

“It’s really devastating. My heart goes out to the victims. It’s really hard walking on campus with the sense of safety,” said ODU student Devani Jolman. “As women, typically when we move around a space, especially in college, we want to feel a freedom to enjoy, go to a party, have fun, and to hear that, you know, they were out there doing that, enjoying their college experience, and then to have someone take that, rip that away from them, is really upsetting.”

Fellow student Karson McHendry said he hopes to see more patrols off-campus and wishes parties could be limited to students only.

“A lot of the off campus fraternity houses and things, they’ll let community members come to the parties, they don’t check for Student ID, so I think that’s a big problem as well,” McHendry said.

According to Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network (RAINN), 13% of college students experience sexual assault or rape.

“Anger, frustration, fear,” Jolman said. “I hope that ODU and the police in Norfolk hold them accountable and find them. And that is, you know, they’re trusted and they’re believed, as victims.”

Shelton says it doesn’t matter if you are on campus, or off, call police if you don’t feel safe.

“We will never victim-blame anyone,” Shelton said. “We want you to be part of the fabric of the university and enjoy your life here as a student, but we want you to be safe, and whether it’s a sexual assault, it’s a larceny or anything else, we take it very seriously here. We put all of our assets into it to get to resolution the best that we can.”