Sexual Assault Victims: College Action Fell Short

Last spring, two undergraduate women filed charges of rape and assault against Harvard undergraduate men.

Now, the women are speaking out publicly for the first time, saying they felt betrayed by the College in the aftermath of the attacks.

The first case, brought against Joshua M. Elster, Class of 2000, ended with his pleading guilty to rape and other charges last September.

Another case was brought against D. Drew Douglas, also Class of 2000, who eventually pled guilty to a charge of indecent assault and battery. Unlike the woman raped by Elster, Douglas' victim chose to take her case first to the Administrative Board instead of to state court. She now says she regrets this decision.

The women first spoke out this week in the most recent issue of Perspective, the campus' liberal monthly. The Crimson has confirmed that neither Elster nor Douglas has yet been expelled or dismissed from Harvard.

"In my opinion, the people I worked with in the administration were unequivocally more concerned with protecting the Harvard name and hiding the process than helping me," the woman assaulted by Douglas told The Crimson in an e-mail message. "They had no qualms about putting me through hell to buy time until the school year ended."

"That is what angers me most," she added.

According to Middlesex County prosecutors, Elster and the woman he raped knew each other for about one-and-a-half months before the rape occurred. They had arranged to meet in her room on Jan. 29 of last year.

At that time, Elster and the victim first engaged in consensual kissing. Then, when the woman rejected his further advances, Elster struck her across the face, forced her to disrobe and raped her. He then left. Neither was under the influence of alcohol.

Elster pled guilty in Middlesex Superior Court to three counts of rape, two counts of assault and battery and one count of indecent assault and battery on Sept. 9. The former Kirkland House resident is currently serving three years probation but no jail time.

As part of his probation, Elster cannot contact the woman he raped, walk on Harvard property or enter University buildings during the three years.

The Ad Board has also determined that the rape occurred. Though Elster has left Harvard indefinitely, the College has not formally dismissed or expelled him, according to Dean of the College Harry R. Lewis '08. Therefore, Elster is still officially a Harvard student.

The woman raped by Elster said she was told by the administration that she would be notified if the College decided to dismiss or expel Elster.

"The way I think about it is, that when the administration doesn't expel the person who raped me, my safety and my welfare doesn't amount to a hill of beans," the woman raped by Elster told Perspective. "If Harvard is so concerned with their name, then why do they have a student who raped another student?"

According to Secretary of the Faculty and longtime Harvard administrator John B. Fox Jr. '59, Elster is probably the first Harvard student to be charged with and convicted of rape.

Douglas, the other undergraduate charged withrape and assault, is orignally from Newton, Wisc.,and lived in Mather House while at Harvard.

Douglas was charged with rape and indecentassault stemming from an incident that occurred onApril 4, 1998. The woman Douglas assaulted saidshe was "familiar" with her assailant.

The women assaulted by Douglas originally choseto pursue her charges against him through the AdBoard, rather than taking her case to the courts.

"It was...pretty sensitive stuff, and I didn'tlike the idea of it being splashed across thepapers," she told Perspective.

She said she would not have first brought thecase before the Ad Board had she not been led tobelieve the Ad Board would expel Douglas.

The Ad Board in recent decades has onlyexpelled students for admissions fraud.

The alternative, dismissal, means separationfrom the College for usually more than five yearswith the option to petition for readmission--amove that requires a vote of the full Faculty. TheAd Board recommends dismissal or expulsion to theFaculty.

"They encouraged me to go through the Ad Boardinstead of going to court by dangling the carrotof expulsion, even when they were fully aware thatit was not an option," she charged.

Ad Board representatives declined to respond tothis specific allegation.

The woman assaulted by Douglas said she askedAssistant Dean of the College Karen E. Avery '87if Douglas would be expelled. As dean ofcoeducation, Avery is usually the firstadministrator to deal with allegations of rape.

Avery and the woman's senior tutor had theresponsibility for representing her before the AdBoard.

"I had made it clear to both my senior tutorand to Dean Avery that I wanted the rapistexpelled and that only if he was expelled would Ieven consider not taking the case to court," thewoman assaulted by Douglas said.

Avery would not comment on these specificcases, but said that in general she never attemptsto predict the outcome of Ad Board proceedings,although she does sometimes give her opinionsabout the possible outcomes.

"There is no sense of, 'If this is how the caseturns out, that is the end result,'" Avery said."I give my opinion, and sometimes that's cause formisinterpretation or someone latching ontosomething they wanted to hear."

At the beginning of the Ad Board process, bothDouglas and the woman filed statements and thenresponded to each other's version of events. Theyappeared separately in front of a subcommittee thewoman said was convened to deal with the case--aprocedure allowed for in the user's guide to theAdministrative Board published by the College.

Lewis said the Ad Board ruled a rape hadoccurred. The Ad Board voted to demand thatDouglas withdraw, and to recommend his dismissal,but not expulsion, to the Faculty.

As in Elster's case, according to Lewis,Douglas has not as yet been formally dismissed bya vote of the Faculty.

The Faculty rarely uses dismissal as a form ofpunishment, according to Lewis. In the past 40years there have been only 12 dismissal actions bythe Faculty.

The woman assaulted said she was "dumbfoundedand then furious" when she heard Douglas was onlyon leave at the end of the Ad Board process, andstill retained his standing as a Harvard student.

Dissatisfied with the results of the Ad Boardproceedings, the woman assaulted by Douglas thentook her case to Middlesex Superior Court.

"The [Ad Board] system doesn't work. It isflawed. It is archaic and it is not made to dealwith cases of sexual assault," she said.

Douglas pled guilty on Sept. 24 to one count ofindecent assault and battery.

He received a sentence of five years probation,stipulating that he cannot make contact with thevictim or her family and cannot seek readmissionto Harvard during the next five years.

The court placed Douglas on a "braceletprogram" for 18 months, subject to six-monthre-evaluations during that time. This means that,on a regular basis, he cannot leave his houseexpect to go to work or school.

Douglas was also indicted on June 11 on a countof rape to which he pled not guilty. However, thischarge was never brought to trial.

"I was not advised that a jury would beunsympathetic to my case--just the opposite," saidthe woman assaulted by Douglas. "But going totrial takes a lot more energy then I was willingto spend after having been raked over the coals byHarvard all spring. I wanted my life back."

The court placed the rape charge on filewithout determining guilt or innocence.

"Someday that could go forward," said Marian T.Ryan of the Middlesex Country District Attorney'soffice. "If he successfully completed hisprobation, probably not."

James L. Sultan, Douglas' attorney, said hedoes not expect the court to revive the rapecharge.

"It was in the best interest of both sides toresolve the case without going through aprotracted trial that would have caused a lot ofemotional upset to the parties," Sultan said.

"His life has been effectively ruined," Sultanadded.

Harvard administrators said this week thatneither student was expelled permanently becausethe College does not like to seal off thepossibility that once-disciplined students couldreturn to be students in good standing.

"I think the Board does think about dismissalversus expulsion the way others think aboutcapital punishment," Lewis wrote in an e-mailmessage. "As unlikely as it is that newinformation could come to light years later thatwould change the way a case is viewed, the Boardand the Faculty have chosen not to excludeabsolutely the possibility that it would want toreverse itself later on."

Avery said the Ad Board does not have theresources to investigate a case in the same depthas a court of law.

"The Ad Board does not have the evidence in thecourt," Avery said. "That's why sometimes goingthrough the criminal [system] just can be a veryeffective means of handling it."

Although Fox, who as dean of the College in the1970s once presided over the Ad Board, said hewould not comment on either case specifically, hesaid often the Ad Board may determine that incases of rape allegations, "The young man made anerror, but it wasn't a calculated error."

He said that, in situations of alleged rape,often "There was also an element ofmiscommunication [between the individualsinvolved]."

Still speaking generally about maleundergraduates involved in such allegations, foxsaid there was the possibility that "this is aperfectly decent young man and he should graduatesome day."

But the women said they would fear for theirlives if the men they charged with rape returnedto campus.

"He's a convicted felon," the woman raped byElster said in the interview with Perspective. "Ifear for my safety if he's back in the Bostonarea, and I can't understand why they want aconvicted felon to call himself a Harvard student,which he is still able to do."

Beyond failing in the eyes of the two victimsin its punitive responsibilities, the College,according to both women, made little effort tocounsel or comfort them after they were assaulted.

"The administration could have checked in withme to see how my semester was going I was reallyhurt and disappointed since I received no realsign that they cared what happened to me or wereconcerned for my well-being," the women who wasraped by Elster told The Crimson. "A simple e-mailwould have meant the world to me."

In the interview with Perspective the womanraped by Elster said she could not find adequatecounseling on Harvard's campus and had to seekhelp else where.

"I was contacted by members of theadministration but nothing was followed throughon," she told Perspective. "I think that they wereworking under the assumption that if I wanted helpI would come to them That's fallacious assumptionbecause I had post- traumatic stress syndrome."

In the Perspective interview, she said Harvardcould have done "everything" better to help her.

Avery said she does not repeatedly contactvictims because she wants to leave the control intheir hands.

"I try not be intrusive because I want studentto make their own decisions," Avery said.

"I usually follow up after a while and say Letme know how you're doing," Avery said. "I'll sendan e-mail...letting them take the first steps."

In her interview with Perspective, the oneHarvard official praised by the woman who wasraped by Elster was Nadja B. Gould, a counselor atUniversity Health Services who deals with rapevictims.

Both women now say they expect to graduate withtheir classes.

"It is out of love for this community andconcern for myself and other students that I havedecided to speak out now," the woman assaulted byDouglas told The Crimson. "I hope someone in theadministration is listening."

In order to maintain their anonymity, TheCrimson interviewed the women via e-mail messagesforwarded by a Perspective staff member

Douglas, the other undergraduate charged withrape and assault, is orignally from Newton, Wisc.,and lived in Mather House while at Harvard.

Douglas was charged with rape and indecentassault stemming from an incident that occurred onApril 4, 1998. The woman Douglas assaulted saidshe was "familiar" with her assailant.

The women assaulted by Douglas originally choseto pursue her charges against him through the AdBoard, rather than taking her case to the courts.

"It was...pretty sensitive stuff, and I didn'tlike the idea of it being splashed across thepapers," she told Perspective.

She said she would not have first brought thecase before the Ad Board had she not been led tobelieve the Ad Board would expel Douglas.

The Ad Board in recent decades has onlyexpelled students for admissions fraud.

The alternative, dismissal, means separationfrom the College for usually more than five yearswith the option to petition for readmission--amove that requires a vote of the full Faculty. TheAd Board recommends dismissal or expulsion to theFaculty.

"They encouraged me to go through the Ad Boardinstead of going to court by dangling the carrotof expulsion, even when they were fully aware thatit was not an option," she charged.

Ad Board representatives declined to respond tothis specific allegation.

The woman assaulted by Douglas said she askedAssistant Dean of the College Karen E. Avery '87if Douglas would be expelled. As dean ofcoeducation, Avery is usually the firstadministrator to deal with allegations of rape.

Avery and the woman's senior tutor had theresponsibility for representing her before the AdBoard.

"I had made it clear to both my senior tutorand to Dean Avery that I wanted the rapistexpelled and that only if he was expelled would Ieven consider not taking the case to court," thewoman assaulted by Douglas said.

Avery would not comment on these specificcases, but said that in general she never attemptsto predict the outcome of Ad Board proceedings,although she does sometimes give her opinionsabout the possible outcomes.

"There is no sense of, 'If this is how the caseturns out, that is the end result,'" Avery said."I give my opinion, and sometimes that's cause formisinterpretation or someone latching ontosomething they wanted to hear."

At the beginning of the Ad Board process, bothDouglas and the woman filed statements and thenresponded to each other's version of events. Theyappeared separately in front of a subcommittee thewoman said was convened to deal with the case--aprocedure allowed for in the user's guide to theAdministrative Board published by the College.

Lewis said the Ad Board ruled a rape hadoccurred. The Ad Board voted to demand thatDouglas withdraw, and to recommend his dismissal,but not expulsion, to the Faculty.

As in Elster's case, according to Lewis,Douglas has not as yet been formally dismissed bya vote of the Faculty.

The Faculty rarely uses dismissal as a form ofpunishment, according to Lewis. In the past 40years there have been only 12 dismissal actions bythe Faculty.

The woman assaulted said she was "dumbfoundedand then furious" when she heard Douglas was onlyon leave at the end of the Ad Board process, andstill retained his standing as a Harvard student.

Dissatisfied with the results of the Ad Boardproceedings, the woman assaulted by Douglas thentook her case to Middlesex Superior Court.

"The [Ad Board] system doesn't work. It isflawed. It is archaic and it is not made to dealwith cases of sexual assault," she said.

Douglas pled guilty on Sept. 24 to one count ofindecent assault and battery.

He received a sentence of five years probation,stipulating that he cannot make contact with thevictim or her family and cannot seek readmissionto Harvard during the next five years.

The court placed Douglas on a "braceletprogram" for 18 months, subject to six-monthre-evaluations during that time. This means that,on a regular basis, he cannot leave his houseexpect to go to work or school.

Douglas was also indicted on June 11 on a countof rape to which he pled not guilty. However, thischarge was never brought to trial.

"I was not advised that a jury would beunsympathetic to my case--just the opposite," saidthe woman assaulted by Douglas. "But going totrial takes a lot more energy then I was willingto spend after having been raked over the coals byHarvard all spring. I wanted my life back."

The court placed the rape charge on filewithout determining guilt or innocence.

"Someday that could go forward," said Marian T.Ryan of the Middlesex Country District Attorney'soffice. "If he successfully completed hisprobation, probably not."

James L. Sultan, Douglas' attorney, said hedoes not expect the court to revive the rapecharge.

"It was in the best interest of both sides toresolve the case without going through aprotracted trial that would have caused a lot ofemotional upset to the parties," Sultan said.

"His life has been effectively ruined," Sultanadded.

Harvard administrators said this week thatneither student was expelled permanently becausethe College does not like to seal off thepossibility that once-disciplined students couldreturn to be students in good standing.

"I think the Board does think about dismissalversus expulsion the way others think aboutcapital punishment," Lewis wrote in an e-mailmessage. "As unlikely as it is that newinformation could come to light years later thatwould change the way a case is viewed, the Boardand the Faculty have chosen not to excludeabsolutely the possibility that it would want toreverse itself later on."

Avery said the Ad Board does not have theresources to investigate a case in the same depthas a court of law.

"The Ad Board does not have the evidence in thecourt," Avery said. "That's why sometimes goingthrough the criminal [system] just can be a veryeffective means of handling it."

Although Fox, who as dean of the College in the1970s once presided over the Ad Board, said hewould not comment on either case specifically, hesaid often the Ad Board may determine that incases of rape allegations, "The young man made anerror, but it wasn't a calculated error."

He said that, in situations of alleged rape,often "There was also an element ofmiscommunication [between the individualsinvolved]."

Still speaking generally about maleundergraduates involved in such allegations, foxsaid there was the possibility that "this is aperfectly decent young man and he should graduatesome day."

But the women said they would fear for theirlives if the men they charged with rape returnedto campus.

"He's a convicted felon," the woman raped byElster said in the interview with Perspective. "Ifear for my safety if he's back in the Bostonarea, and I can't understand why they want aconvicted felon to call himself a Harvard student,which he is still able to do."

Beyond failing in the eyes of the two victimsin its punitive responsibilities, the College,according to both women, made little effort tocounsel or comfort them after they were assaulted.

"The administration could have checked in withme to see how my semester was going I was reallyhurt and disappointed since I received no realsign that they cared what happened to me or wereconcerned for my well-being," the women who wasraped by Elster told The Crimson. "A simple e-mailwould have meant the world to me."

In the interview with Perspective the womanraped by Elster said she could not find adequatecounseling on Harvard's campus and had to seekhelp else where.

"I was contacted by members of theadministration but nothing was followed throughon," she told Perspective. "I think that they wereworking under the assumption that if I wanted helpI would come to them That's fallacious assumptionbecause I had post- traumatic stress syndrome."

In the Perspective interview, she said Harvardcould have done "everything" better to help her.

Avery said she does not repeatedly contactvictims because she wants to leave the control intheir hands.

"I try not be intrusive because I want studentto make their own decisions," Avery said.

"I usually follow up after a while and say Letme know how you're doing," Avery said. "I'll sendan e-mail...letting them take the first steps."

In her interview with Perspective, the oneHarvard official praised by the woman who wasraped by Elster was Nadja B. Gould, a counselor atUniversity Health Services who deals with rapevictims.

Both women now say they expect to graduate withtheir classes.

"It is out of love for this community andconcern for myself and other students that I havedecided to speak out now," the woman assaulted byDouglas told The Crimson. "I hope someone in theadministration is listening."

In order to maintain their anonymity, TheCrimson interviewed the women via e-mail messagesforwarded by a Perspective staff member