Alleged Rape Stirs Campus

In February, Harvard witnessed its first public allegation of rape of one Harvard undergraduate by another in recent years.

The Harvard University Police Department (HUPD) arrested Joshua M. Elster '00 on Saturday, Jan. 31, from his Kirkland House room on three counts of rape and two counts of assault and battery. He was released on $10,000 cash bail and later indicted by a grand jury in Cambridge on the five original counts and an additional count of indecent assault and battery which refers to the sexual nature of the offense with which he has been charged. Elster's case is now in the pre-trial stages in the Superior Court. The next court date is scheduled for September.

The accuser alleges the rape occurred on Wednesday, Jan. 28, but the woman did not seek help at the University Health Services (UHS) until the next day.

But HUPD initially failed to fully report the series of events. There was originally no mention of either the woman's call to HUPD from UHS or Elster's arrest in its public log.

In accordance with Massachusetts open records laws, the log, or blotter, must list all incidents requiring police attention in chronological order, labeling each incident with an index number. But one index number was missing at the time of both the call and the arrest, suggesting that reports of the incidents had been omitted.

Harvard University Police Chief Francis D. "Bud" Riley blamed the omission on human error. "The arrest absolutely should have been in the blotter," he said.

Riley said the call did not appear in the blotter because the victim requested the case remain confidential until she filed a criminal complaint.

But, according to Riley, the current system cannot list confidential reports on the blotter, so the incident remained unrecorded.

Riley said the arrest would have been added to the original report and, consequently, was also missing from the blotter.

Following criticism after the incident, HUPD took steps towards revamping its record-keeping system.

Elster's lawyer Kenneth F. D'Arcy '58 asserted his client's innocence. "[Elster] didn't do anything against the law," he said. "You've got two consenting adults. Whatever happens, his defense is consent."

District Court Judge George R. Sprague '60 set three conditions for his bail release.

"The first was that he stay away from the victim. The second was that he would stay away from Harvard altogether. The third is that he is not to leave the Commonwealth of Massachusetts [unless he appeals to the court to reverse its decision]," Sprague said.

In February, University spokesperson Joe Wrinn said Elster is taking a leave of absence from the University.

D'Arcy said Elster is distancing himself from the University. "He can't go back to Harvard," he said. "It's a voluntary separation...a mutual choice." Elster has only returned to Harvard with the escort of his lawyer, Kenneth F. D'Arcy '58, to meet with the administration and retrieve his belongings.

In an interview with The Crimson in February, D'Arcy described his client's account of the incident. D'Arcy claimed the woman invited Elster to her room on a date on Jan. 28. He said they did not have definite plans for the evening.

D'Arcy said they spent an hour or two together--during which time they had sex--and then Elster left the Dormitory.

"They left on happy terms," D'Arcy said. "Everything that was done was completely consensual."

The alleged acquaintance rape also elicited calls for greater awareness about sexual violence on campus.

About 30 concerned students gathered on Feb. 4 in an emergency ad hoc committee to discuss rape prevention on campus.

The group, which included representatives from peer counseling groups such as Response and Room 13, discussed the establishment of an activist group.

The emergency committee expressed concern that there is currently no mandatory date rape education for all students.

"We need to address the fact that this is an important issue and this is a community issue," said Cari E. Sietstra '98. "It's not something that happens once a year."

Later, students formed the Coalition Against Sexual Violence. According to coalition member Brina Milikowsky '00, the group was formed because members believed the alleged rape failed to stir enough campus response.