sws4420
11-10-2006, 10:58 PM
Saint Rose student accused of false report in incident that led to new safety measures
ALBANY -- A College of Saint Rose freshman whose report of being robbed and sexually attacked sparked increased safety measures at the school admitted Thursday that she made the whole thing up so she could go back home, campus police said.
Jessica L. Waffle, 18, of Fonda, was arrested at 3:15 p.m. Thursday and charged with falsely reporting an incident, a misdemeanor.
"Right up to (Wednesday) night ... we were investigating it as an assault and a forcible touching incident," said Capt. Aran Mull of the University at Albany campus police, which handled the incident. "A lot of people took time to work on this incident when they could have been working on things that were valid."
At first, police said Waffle waited to report the incident because, like many victims of sexual attacks, she was afraid to come forward.
But Thursday, police said her story unraveled. She confessed when police confronted her with facts from her story that contradicted her initial statements and didn't match evidence found by a State Police forensics team.
On Monday, Oct. 30, Waffle had told police she found two men ransacking her things when she returned to her room the previous Saturday night at 8:50 p.m. She told police one of the men tried to attack her sexually before fleeing. She gave police a detailed description of the men -- down to khaki painter pants and a torn ear lobe, authorities said.
A man answering the phone at Waffle's home in Fonda, who identified himself as the student's father, would only say, "We really have no comment at this time."
Waffle was given an appearance ticket and is scheduled to appear in Albany City Court on Nov. 22.
She is one of more than 300 freshmen at Brubacher Hall.
Saint Rose spokeswoman Lisa Haley Thomson said administrators will review the case and Waffle's status at the school today.
"Arrests of Saint Rose students are so rare an occurrence that we handle them on a case-by-case basis," she said. "Most likely we'll recommend a leave of absence and counseling."
Saint Rose leases Brubacher Hall, where Waffle lives, from the University at Albany, so university police handle calls there.
Concern over the attack in the freshman dormitory, just one weekend before Halloween, prompted college administrators to call a Town Hall-style meeting last week to address security issues. At the meeting, school leaders promised to enhance security on campus and speed up previously planned improvements. Plans are to install security cameras and security card readers. At the meeting they also promised to send a letter detailing the attack to the parents of all students.
"The safety and security of all of our students, faculty and staff is and will always be paramount at this institution," read a statement released by the college Thursday evening. "The College stands by all of its actions last week and has already begun to implement the security measures to which it committed last week."
http://timesunion.com/AspStories/story.asp?storyID=533722&category=ALBANY&BCCode=HOME&newsdate=11/10/2006
ALBANY -- A College of Saint Rose freshman whose report of being robbed and sexually attacked sparked increased safety measures at the school admitted Thursday that she made the whole thing up so she could go back home, campus police said.
Jessica L. Waffle, 18, of Fonda, was arrested at 3:15 p.m. Thursday and charged with falsely reporting an incident, a misdemeanor.
"Right up to (Wednesday) night ... we were investigating it as an assault and a forcible touching incident," said Capt. Aran Mull of the University at Albany campus police, which handled the incident. "A lot of people took time to work on this incident when they could have been working on things that were valid."
At first, police said Waffle waited to report the incident because, like many victims of sexual attacks, she was afraid to come forward.
But Thursday, police said her story unraveled. She confessed when police confronted her with facts from her story that contradicted her initial statements and didn't match evidence found by a State Police forensics team.
On Monday, Oct. 30, Waffle had told police she found two men ransacking her things when she returned to her room the previous Saturday night at 8:50 p.m. She told police one of the men tried to attack her sexually before fleeing. She gave police a detailed description of the men -- down to khaki painter pants and a torn ear lobe, authorities said.
A man answering the phone at Waffle's home in Fonda, who identified himself as the student's father, would only say, "We really have no comment at this time."
Waffle was given an appearance ticket and is scheduled to appear in Albany City Court on Nov. 22.
She is one of more than 300 freshmen at Brubacher Hall.
Saint Rose spokeswoman Lisa Haley Thomson said administrators will review the case and Waffle's status at the school today.
"Arrests of Saint Rose students are so rare an occurrence that we handle them on a case-by-case basis," she said. "Most likely we'll recommend a leave of absence and counseling."
Saint Rose leases Brubacher Hall, where Waffle lives, from the University at Albany, so university police handle calls there.
Concern over the attack in the freshman dormitory, just one weekend before Halloween, prompted college administrators to call a Town Hall-style meeting last week to address security issues. At the meeting, school leaders promised to enhance security on campus and speed up previously planned improvements. Plans are to install security cameras and security card readers. At the meeting they also promised to send a letter detailing the attack to the parents of all students.
"The safety and security of all of our students, faculty and staff is and will always be paramount at this institution," read a statement released by the college Thursday evening. "The College stands by all of its actions last week and has already begun to implement the security measures to which it committed last week."
http://timesunion.com/AspStories/story.asp?storyID=533722&category=ALBANY&BCCode=HOME&newsdate=11/10/2006