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(12/24/13 6:42pm)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Part of the lawsuit against two men who were with missing IU student Lauren Spierer the night she disappeared will move forward.Spierer, a then-20-year-old sophomore, has yet to be located following exhaustive searches the past two and a half years. She was last seen June 3, 2011.Lauren’s parents, Rob and Charlene Spierer, allege in a complaint filed May 31 that Jason Rosenbaum and Corey Rossman abandoned “duty of care” for their daughter as they provided her with alcoholic beverages when she was already intoxicated. Two negligence counts remain against Rosenbaum and Rossman after they sought dismissal of the suit.According to U.S. District Judge Tanya Walton Pratt’s ruling issued Monday, a third count alleging negligence on behalf of Rosenbaum and Rossman “resulting in the disappearance, death or injury of an adult child” was dismissed.“This ruling confirms that our lawsuit has merit and that we are entitled to ask important questions of these defendants and other witnesses,” Jeanine Kerridge, attorney for the Spierers, said in an email. “We have respected the defendants' rights to seek a dismissal and we now hope that the defendants will respect our right to full and complete discovery that our system of justice allows us to receive.”Follow reporter Michael Majchrowicz on Twitter @mjmajchrowicz.
(12/02/13 9:59pm)
A federal judge dismissed a negligence lawsuit Monday against one of the three men seen with missing IU student Lauren Spierer before she disappeared in June 2011.
(11/19/13 5:05am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>KOKOMO — To some of those whose homes were in the path of two tornadoes that ripped through the city Sunday evening, the sound of the sky falling resembled a series of explosions.It’s right out of an action movie, one woman said, leading up to the big “boom!”After the boom came the roaring winds. The rain poured down as hail pelted buildings, streets and windows. Traffic lights hung like dangling icicles on a wire, while brick buildings that once stretched long and tall throughout the area crumbled like a Lego set.And then there was the silence.* * *A cluster of severe storms produced multiple tornadoes that touched down throughout the Midwest, including Indiana and Illinois. By Monday evening, the National Weather Service preliminarily confirmed 12 tornadoes across the Hoosier state.Kokomo was among the most heavily damaged areas as a result of two confirmed tornadoes — one of them zipping at least 10 miles across the city. As of Monday evening, most of the city was still without power. Mayor Greg Goodnight declared a state of emergency that lasted through early Monday morning.In Kokomo, there is an old adage that states tornadoes never strike north of Wildcat Creek.Before Monday’s storm, three tornadoes had since struck Kokomo — two in April 2004 and one in July 2005, according to the National Weather Service.Sunday evening, the first tornado took 45-year-old Ella Cunningham by surprise.“I always thought it would be completely dark,” she said.But it was still light out.Cunningham stood and watched the winds form swirl formations as it picked up dirt from the roads. When she heard the large boom from above, she ran into the bathroom where she curled into a ball in the bathtub with a blanket. After the roaring and shaking subsided, it was absolutely still, she said.Ella emerged from the bathroom.The front room, near where she watched the beginning stages of the storm, looked as if it had been ransacked. The windows were blown out with furniture, portraits and collectibles scattered across the floor.Ella has collected eagles for the past 20 years. Her collection took the form of sculptures, portraits and drawings around the room. When the tornadoes hit, the eagles took flight. Only three from her collection were accounted for after the storm.She drove to the Waffle House, where she works midnight shifts, to charge her phone. It was the only thing she could think to do.Ella couldn’t help but be surprised at the disproportionate nature of the damage. Some parts of the city lay in piles of debris while others remained virtually untouched. The fire department made inspections to damaged homes and structures — a red “X” was sprayed on planks that were secured over the gaping doorways and shattered window frames.“It’s so funny how it blocked up certain things and not others,” she said.* * *As the storm peaked, Linda Rood was still half asleep on the couch.That’s when her husband Charlie came running through the living room.“Come on, babe,” he said, “Let’s get to the basement.” Parts of the house shook as the violent winds erupted through now-shattered glass windows.Charlie’s hand was on the doorknob when they felt the stillness. The roaring of the storm ceased. The two hurried over to a window, and Linda began to sob as she peered outside.The exterior garage — with her van inside — was in ruins. Immediately, through the tears, she began making welfare calls to family and friends. The garage outside was merely a pile of splinters and tree limbs, but all she could think about was everyone else.Where were they when the tornadoes came through? Were they OK?Monday began the bulk of the surveying and restoration process.An adult tree had leveled their garage to a pile of splinters, insulation and chunks of siding. After a surveyor signed off on the damage, Linda and Charlie, both 54, with the help of other family, combed through wreckage.Without notice, swarms of what appeared to be high school students began to show up at their home. First there were maybe 10. Then there were 20, they said, and then 30.The Roods don’t know for sure because they never asked. Nothing was said, Jim Mote, 56, said. “They just came in, cleaned shit up and didn’t say a word.”After assisting with cleanup, the students continued on to another location.It was moments like these, Charlie said, that reminded his family they weren’t alone.“(They’re) just super people,” he added.Monday evening, the group stood in debris staring into the wreckage while they puffed e-cigarettes and cracked jokes as the sun set on Kokomo.“It’s all replaceable,” one of them said.Follow reporter Michael Majchrowicz on Twitter @mjmajchrowicz.
(10/23/13 4:27am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>As the rain fell outside the Whittenberger Auditorium, there was no shouting, no name-calling, no picket signs. Judy Shepard couldn’t help but feel relieved.Mostly for the speech attendees — that none of them would have to endure the Westboro Baptist Church. The group has drawn heated criticism in the last decade given its extreme views — particularly its adamant intolerance of homosexuality. Members of the congregation, lead by Pastor Fred Phelps, have attracted national attention in the past for picketing the funerals of fallen soldiers and viciously condemning homosexuality.The group originally scheduled a protest to take place outside of Shepard’s speech Tuesday evening at the Indiana Memorial Union.They call her the “fag pimp.” They’ve begun tweeting at her.Not that it mattered, Shepard said. Shepard didn’t pay attention to them when they picketed her son’s funeral 15 years ago, and she doesn’t pay attention to them now.Matthew’s case put them in the spotlight, Shepard said, and they thrive from it. Eventually, they’ll move on.“I don’t give them any credit or any power over anything I do,” Shepard said, not even blinking. “They’re lower than the stuff I scrape off the bottom of my shoe.”Matthew Shepard was the victim of an apparent hate-crime-related murder in 1998 near Laramie, Wyo., when he was 21 years old. Pistol-whipped, bound and beaten, Matthew was left to die tied to a fence post.Since Matthew’s murder, the Matthew Shepard Act was enacted in 2009. The legislation, also known as the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd, Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act, expanded hate crime law to include criminal acts motivated by actual or perceived gender or sexual identity.At the Whittenberger Auditorium, the rain continued to spit and temperatures dipped as about 50 students congregated outside the door. Huddled in groups, small talk shifted to speculation. Shepard said the one take-away from the Westboro Baptist appearances are the counter protests they provoke. Students standing together to fight for something that needs to be done.A half hour passed, and the Westoboro Baptist Church protesters were still a no-show. “Maybe they’re in disguise,” a man suggested to his group of friends.Or maybe they’ll take everyone by surprise and erupt in the quiet of the auditorium when nobody expects it, another said, “and, like, set the place on fire.”Measures were taken on behalf of IU to ensure the planned would-be protest did not spiral out of control.IU police officers were stationed both inside the building and outside where students gathered to greet the Westboro Baptist Church members.“Their message is abhorrent,” Mark Land, associate vice president of IU Communications said. “It’s hate speech, and there’s really no way around it.”But they had every right to be there. If free speech is going to mean anything, Land said, you have to let the hate mongers have their say.Soon, 50 would-be counter protestors became 20. And then nobody was left standing out in the cold. The speech was about to begin, and the doors opened.The picket signs were nowhere in sight.
(10/14/13 5:21pm)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Regarding all reported incidents, the Bloomington Police Department abides by a triage system, meaning noise violations are prioritized by the number of officers available to respond as they come through to dispatch.BPD Lt. Faron Lake said noise violations fall somewhere near the bottom of the priority chain.“Keep it small, keep it inside,” Lake said regarding house parties. “It’s a rarity that we have to knock on a door and someone answers.”Concerning noise violations, BPD operates on a two strikes, you’re out policy. The first time an ordinance is cited, a $50 fine and a written warning might come into the picture. The second time, more expensive fees and jail time are within the realm of further consequences, Lake said.
(09/23/13 4:33am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Inside the only strip joint in the city, the scuffed, charcoal-faded runway is a shared stage. Jerimy Koch trudges to the end of the stage and works his way back. Except for Koch, 35, it’s not a dance pole he’s grasping, but a mop.The black lights remain on even as the surrounding overhead lights buzz around the club. The freshly mopped surface glimmers in the red and violet hues.The women usually walk in quietly throughout the afternoon before the club opens at 3 p.m., before they undergo the transformation into their onstage personas — the dancers who get dressed to get naked.But when the dance poles are unattended, the runway is silent and the VIP room is vacant — both areas void of the usual sounds of clicking heels and pulsating dance anthems — someone has to tend to whatever is left behind from the night before, tidying up, scrubbing and mopping. Koch is that guy.Sometimes in the back room, Koch will discover blood from the occasional fight or stale vomit. On the rare occasion, the more intimate of bodily fluids will turn up.“You can never really tell,” he says, “it’s usually dried anyway.”* * *As the only strip club in the area, Koch says as he wipes down the bar counter, the venue attracts “a little bit of everybody.”He talks about the men who hurl dollar bills onto the stage, lusting for more skin. “Some guys, they’ll make it rain,” Koch says. “With the way the economy is, most guys can’t make it rain anymore.” However, 13 years is a long time to be cleaning bathrooms and back rooms at a strip club.By day, he boasts a mop and broom, but when the sun goes down and the customers flood in, Koch can be found behind the bar. He mostly loves the job because of the people he encounters and admits he wants out of the cleaning gig.Every two weeks or so, when he’s the only one at the club cleaning, he holds auditions for the women who apply to be dancers. Koch does the run-through with the new girls, explains the dos and don’ts and how in Indiana, it is state law that the women cover their nipples. Above the desk where he sits in the office, a poster of a grinning blonde girl is taped to the wall. “Do not hire!” is scribbled across the bottom of the printout in pen. “Underage!” Before Koch met his girlfriend, who serves drinks at the club, he’d spend a few nights a year after Friday shifts watching strip sets and sipping his usual Crown Royal Whisky and Coke.“You gotta do that every now and then,” Koch says. Nowadays, he says, the power of the naked bodies has mostly diminished.“Desensitized is a good way to put it,” he says.When he cleans at the strip club, he has his routine down to a science. Koch works at the club Monday through Friday, often serving as the closing bartender the nights before he has to wake up, go back to the club and scrub the place down. He’s at the club by 12:30 p.m. or so and cleans well into the afternoon. The job never used to bother him, but things are different now, he says. Between bartending and cleaning, it’s not uncommon for Koch to settle into bed around 6 a.m. Then he wakes up and pushes restart.“I would ultimately love to find someone else to do it,” he says. It’s not a change in venue he’s looking for — at least not yet. Koch says he just wants to ditch the cleaning supplies. A tattoo stretching shoulder to shoulder on his back reads “stand and be true,” a reference from one of his favorite Stephen King series, “The Dark Tower.” Ask him where he sees himself in 20 years, and he’ll tell you about his aspirations of opening his own bar. But for now, Koch says it’s especially difficult to obtain a liquor license because they are issued in the county on a per capita basis. The question, he says, is whether or not to remain in Bloomington.Sometimes, he thinks back to when he was 18 and in a Navy ROTC program in high school. “I always say if I could go back, I would,” he says.During his cleaning shifts, vendors show up now and then, boasting cigarette cartons and bottles of liquor by the box-full. Koch signs for all of it, and the vendors all know him by name.“How’s it goin’, brother?” Koch asks.“Same old bullshit,” the man replies. “We’ve got an easy one today — case of booze, bottles of Jack.”The tasks tend to vary depending on the day and how much fun club patrons had the night before.Clorox fumes trail the tired custodian as he trudges from one end of the club to the other — cleaning bathrooms, scrubbing walls, washing the windows and changing the automatic cinnamon aerosol freshener that’s perched atop the VIP room sign. Koch doesn’t say much. He tries to keep his mind focused only on the cleaning. Nothing else, he says.He always saves the runway for last, right before the club opens for the evening.As Koch continues to circle around the club, an industrial broom and dustpan are his close companions. He packs away his cleaning supplies with the exception of his mop.It’s the end of his time cleaning the joint, so he plunges his mop into the yellow bin of cleaning solution one last time and steps onto the runway — where the dancers typically have dominion. But for now, the stage is his.After Koch finishes mopping the runway, he retires the rest of his trusty cleaning supplies to join the broom and dustpan in storage. He slugs over to the bar and reaches for the light panel.Click, click, click, click. As he flips down each switch, the club, section by section, returns to its natural dark state. “It’s a give-and-take kind of business,” Koch says. “You gotta be willing to give a little to get what you get. Cleaning’s not glamorous, but you have to do it.”The newly cleaned runway shines under the warm glow of the black lights, and the heel impressions disappear in the darkness.Follow reporter Michael Majchrowicz on Twitter @mjmajchrowicz.
(08/30/13 4:58am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Indianapolis researchers from the IU School of Medicine are working to develop a blood test that would identify patients at risk of impulsive suicidal behavior.The test would indicate whether or not a patient is at risk depending on how high the biomarkers register in blood work, said Dr. Alexander Niculescu III, who served as the principal investigator throughout the research process.“Our intent is to develop a general test,” Niculescu said in an email between meetings Wednesday. “Suicidality does not occur only in people with bipolar disorder or people with psychiatric disorders. It is broader than that.”It all started with a field analysis. Niculescu and his team of researchers monitored a large group of patients diagnosed with bipolar disorder during a span of three years, conducting interviews and collecting blood samples every three to six months.The blood samples came from a subset of participants reporting a shift from no suicidal thoughts to suicidal ideation. From there, researchers were able to pinpoint the differences between “low” and “high” states of suicidal thoughts, according to the study.Then, with the cooperation of the Marion County Coroner’s Office, researchers collected blood samples from cadavers of suicide victims and compared results to two additional patient groups.An enzyme called SAT1 provided the strongest signal consistent with suicidal thoughts. When amounts of SAT1 are elevated, research indicates this is indicative of an association with suicidal tendencies.A bulk of the research subjects, Niculescu said, were recruited out of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, which “has a primarily male population.”For now, only male subjects have been used in the research.“There could be gender differences, so we just focused on one gender at a time,” Niculescu said, adding that there are definite plans to expand research efforts to include female subjects.Niculescu said the team is also poised to conduct “larger normative studies in the population” to identify a range of these markers in different ethnic groups as well.If research initiatives are successful, the general public can expect the blood test to be available in the next five or so years, he said.“We plan to study other high-risk groups, such as people with major depressive disorder,” Niculescu said.In addition, the team is working to create socio-demographic checklists and tests that even further assist in identifying at-risk patients.But as Niculescu said, there are other factors to be taken into consideration when trying to evaluate which patients are at risk.Nancy Stockton, the director of Counseling and Psychological Services at the IU Health Center, agreed that there are several pieces to the puzzle when it comes to treating such patients.“Suicide is a pretty complex phenomenon,” Stockton said. “I think because of the complexity, these other factors would very much so need to be considered.”The research by Niculescu’s team, she added, is a step in the right direction.Stockton has used group treatment for students adjusting to bipolar disorder throughout their college careers.“The more you know, the more you can educate people, and people can do the self-care things they need to do to have more understanding of the convergence of factors that may put them very much at risk,” Stockton said.Follow reporter Michael Majchrowicz on Twitter @mjmajchrowicz.
(04/26/13 12:15am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Just short of two weeks after having been unearthed, the skeletal remains discovered by mushroom hunters in Brown County have been identified.The remains are those of Kate McGrayel, a then 26-year-old IU alumna who left for a hike in April 2010, and never returned.The Brown County Sheriff’s Office was contacted the afternoon of April 11 in reference to possible human remains discovered in a wooded area near Wise Hollow Road, southwest of Nashville, Ind. Nashville is located about 20 miles east of Bloomington.Brown County Sherriff's Office officials confirmed the identification Thursday.The mushroom hunters found a skull and various clothing items. At the time of the discovery, little was known about the remains, although one thing was clear: the remains had laid undisturbed for about two years. On April 22, 2010, Jim McGrayel, Kate’s father, contacted an acquaintance of the 26-year-old to inquire if his daughter had been in touch, according to case report. Jim advised the acquaintance that Kate had been missing for 20 days at that point.The acquaintance notified Brown County authorities of the phone call. Kate’s mother informed authorities that Kate had left 10 days earlier and had not returned.Brown County Sheriff’s Office officials contacted Kate’s mother, who she had been living with at the time. Kate was officially listed as a missing person that evening, according to the report. Although a cause of death has yet to be determined, foul play is not suspected.
(04/15/13 9:11pm)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>In the race’s fifth hour, multiple explosions ripped through Boylston Street near the finish line at Monday’s Boston Marathon.Two explosives detonated simultaneously before 3:15 p.m. Monday along Boylston Street, killing at least three individuals and injuring dozens more, according to Boston police officials.Later in the afternoon, Boston Police Commissioner Edward Davis addressed the public in a press conference at about 4:50 p.m. A third explosion reportedly detonated at John F. Kennedy Library a little more than an hour after the initial blasts, Davis said.IU senior Patrick Mazzocco was 20 floors above the finish line, safely in his Sheraton Boston Hotel room with his parents and sister, when he felt “the deepness” of the first blast. And then the second.It was like a cannon, he said, or even thunder.“I was pretty sure it was race-related,” Mazzocco said. “I thought they were signifying the race was over.”Peering out the window, it was clear to Patrick and his family that something wasn’t right. The family stood and watched as chaos ensued throughout Boylston Street and Massachusetts Avenue. White smoke filled the air, and people ran in every direction. About 45 minutes prior to the blasts, Patrick’s sister, Lisa, 25, had completed the marathon, finishing just before the 3-hour, 30-minute mark.Mazzocco, 22, had been observing the race near the location of the blasts less than an hour before they were detonated.Upon Lisa’s finish, the family went about their afternoon, posing for family photos and deliberating where they would eat. After the family saw the commotion, their attention focused on what to do next.According to the official race registry, there were 283 Indiana residents scheduled to run the race, nine of whom hailed from Bloomington.Not included on the list is IU School of Medicine student Andrew Walker. Walker finished the race about two hours before the first boom shook the area. He communicated via text message that he was safe.Ryan Piurek, director of news and media for IU Communications, confirmed three of the nine individuals listed from Bloomington have connections to IU. Among the confirmed individuals are Ethan Michelson, associate professor of sociology and law; Chris Muir, a graduate student studying evolutionary biology, and Rachel Noirot, a registered dietitian with Residential Programs and Services.Mazzocco and his family sat in their hotel room as media reports rolled in. Rumors as to whether additional explosive devices had been located seemed to direct a lot of the coverage, he said.Bomb dogs and service helicopters, he said, remained active throughout the evening. Many surrounding hotels on Boylston Street were evacuated, though the Sheraton was not one of them.“I cannot emphasize enough how quickly responders arrived to the scene to help those in need,” Mazzocco said.The streets where people, police and sirens swarmed earlier became desolate.From his hotel room, Mazzacco said he could see that officials had ceased traffic flow on the Harvard Bridge at the time. “The streets are really dead,” he said as he returned to the view. “It’s become a bit of a ghost town.”— Matthew Glowicki, Jordan Littman and Katie Mettler contributed to this story.
(03/25/13 2:51am)
Snow falls over the Sample Gates on Sunday in Bloomington.
(02/07/13 5:00am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>A sea of constituents flooded the aisle and spilled out the doorway of a small chamber room of the Statehouse Wednesday afternoon. Most of them, at least 17 people, were waiting to testify to the House Elections and Apportionment Committee regarding House Bill 1311, a bill that proposes to amend the Indiana Election Code by restricting out-of-state university students from voting in Indiana elections.The bill’s author, Rep. Peggy Mayfield, R-Martinsville, who also has a seat on the elections committee, addressed the table of representatives.“The assumption is even your education facility doesn’t recognize (students) as an Indiana resident,” she said. “The law is already on the books. Colleges used to make sure that students knew the process for absentee voting, and that’s not necessarily the case anymore.”Rep. Terry Goodin, D-Austin, put on the brakes, asserting HB 1311 might not be the vehicle to take on the voting issues at hand, such as county redistricting and voter fraud.“I just get concerned when we disenfranchise people from voting,” he said. “It’s a serious statement it sends out.”IU College Democrats President Aaron Dy said his organization just barely caught wind of the bill — hearing about it through the Indiana Young Democrats three days before the House Committee convened.Rep. Milo Smith, R-Columbus, the committee chairman, said the bill will be put to a vote the next time the committee is in session.“It’s not over yet,” Dy said. “We have to wait to see what action they’re going to take. We’re not going to stop applying pressure to let them know we oppose this. We’re going to continue to make sure they know we have an issue with that. If they’re willing to have those conversations, we’re willing to be a part of those conversations.”Dy said the underlying issue is a matter of student rights — an issue that has united the Democratic and Republican student parties on the same front.“We haven’t made a joint statement or met,” Dy said. The IU College Republicans executive board, to Dy’s knowledge, has not been able to meet at this point to further discuss the issue and advise a course of action.“We’re reaching out to them as this is going on,” he said.It is important for the campus political organizations to be reaching out to other student groups, Dy said. As far as the amendment in the bill that would ban out-of-state students from voting in Indiana elections, Dy said HB 1311 would have to undergo “pretty big changes” to earn the College Democrats’ support.“On that issue of residency, we have an issue with that on a matter on principle,” he said. “There may be legitimate concerns on things like voter fraud, but this isn’t the way to do it.”Rep. Matt Pierce, D-Bloomington, stood before the committee, his voice stern and his fingers hitting the top of the podium whenever he made a point.“I’m a little upset and offended by what I’ve heard here today,” Pierce said, alleging points made in favor of the proposed legislation illustrated rank discrimination. “We’re going to disenfranchise (students). I reject this idea that there is a standard practice in a student population that they’re voting in two places. We should not be treating these students like they’re aliens from another planet.”“Another state,” a committee member chuckled.Pierce reinforced the assertion that HB 1311 was a strike against the younger end of the voting demographic, such as college students — groups that typically vote Democratic.IU Professor Chaim Julian joined Pierce and Dy in opposition of HB 1311.Julian described himself as an active citizen, emphasizing Bloomington as his home. It was, however, a gradual process, he said.“A very funny thing happened to me on the way to my degree,” Julian said. “I fell in love with Bloomington.”Citing his civic duties, Julian brought to the committee’s attention that he had even served double jury duty. He took pride in his residency and civic contributions.“What is the point of making these contributions if I don’t have a voice,” Julian said.The assumption of the amendment is that students are irresponsible, he said. That students just register, unaware of what it is, or more so who it is, they’re electing.“How do you know that,” he demanded. “Voting is a right of citizenship. We should not have to go through hoops to exercise that right. And that’s what this bill does.”
(02/07/13 3:51am)
The House committee convened Wednesday evening to discuss House Bill 1311. The hearing took place in the basement of the Statehouse.
(02/07/13 3:48am)
The House committee convened Wednesday evening to discuss House Bill 1311. The hearing took place in the basement of the Statehouse.
(02/07/13 3:47am)
IU Democrats President Aaron Dy speaks at a House committee, which convened Wednesday evening to discuss House Bill 1311. The hearing took place in the basement of the Statehouse.
(02/07/13 3:45am)
A House committee convened Wednesday evening to discuss House Bill 1311. The hearing took place in the basement of the Statehouse.
(02/07/13 3:45am)
A House committee convened Wednesday evening to discuss House Bill 1311. The hearing took place in the basement of the Statehouse.
(02/07/13 3:44am)
A House committee convened Wednesday evening to discuss House Bill 1311. The hearing took place in the basement of the Statehouse.
(01/28/13 5:55pm)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>It’s all fun and games until somebody lands a city noise ordinance.The Bloomington Police Department abides by a triage system, meaning that as noise violations come through to dispatch, they are prioritized by the number of officers available to respond.BPD Lt. Faron Lake said noise violations fall somewhere near the bottom of the priority chain.“Keep it small, keep it inside,” Lake said regarding house parties. “It’s a rarity that we have to knock on a door and someone answers.”Concerning noise violations, BPD operates on a “two strikes, you’re out” policy.The first time an ordinance is cited, a $50 fine and a written warning might come into the picture. The second time, more expensive fees and jail time are within the realm of consequences, Lake said.
(01/16/13 6:06am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>5:43 a.m. July 8, 2000It was a sleepover.A 14-year-old boy and his friend were sleeping in a mutual bed. The 14-year-old awoke to the sensation of a touch on his genitals.Afraid and unsure of what to do, as if paralyzed in a state of shock, the 14-year-old pretended to sleep. The other boy began performing oral sex on him and following the initial sexual acts, proceeded to force himself inside the victim.The 14-year-old ultimately reported the series of events that unfolded that summer morning to Bloomington police.After the report, a rape kit was completed at an area hospital.This case, as it is recorded in police records, was a sexual assault. In fact, it was a number of things according to Indiana Code, including sexual battery and criminal deviate conduct.But, according to the code, it wasn't "rape."***Indiana law does not constitute sexual assault as rape unless it is between members of opposite sex. However, there is deviate conduct, “a person who knowingly or intentionally causes another person to perform or submit to deviate sexual conduct.” Investigators and prosecutors typically file for criminal deviate conduct when an accused person makes forced sexual contact through means of anal penetration, oral penetration or penetration with an object without the victim’s consent or if the victim is in a state in which they cannot grant permission. Prosecutors, psychologists and advocacy leaders have made it clear that a change is necessary — some even calling the current code “archaic.” There were at least 21 reported same-sex sexual assaults from 2000 to 2010, according to Bloomington and IU police records. During the same time period, about 680 other sexual assaults were reported between members of the opposite sex. From January 2011 to September 2012, there were at least nine same-sex sexual assaults reported. In less than two years, there were almost half the number of incidents that were reported in the previous 10 years. The Middle Way House Domestic Violence and Rape Crisis Shelter is a sought-after resource for victims of sexual assault, both male and female, in Bloomington. “We de-gender the crime,” said Shani Robin, Middle Way House crisis intervention services coordinator. “We don’t go by Indiana Code, and that’s deliberate.” Sixteen percent of all sexual assault cases at Middle Way House involve male victims, Robin said. The perpetrators in nearly all the cases: other men. Robin said sovereignty is at play. Given that the Federal Bureau of Investigation has its own definition of “rape,” the laws differ from state to state. Her answer to the issue: education. However, visiting lectures and classes, she said, can only do so much. In her experience, people hear the statistics related to sex crimes and will oftentimes display signs of legitimate concern, but fail when it comes down to implementation and action.As members of a nonprofit advocacy group, Robin and her associates’ involvement in pressing for legislation can only go so far.“We can’t necessarily lobby in our positions,” Robin said. “We’re restricted by the government as a nonprofit. It lies in the hands of the people to care.” Terms such as “deviate” act as curveballs to Robin and her team. “Loaded terms,” she calls them — terms that can incite “traumatic” reflections and repercussions for victims. “We know language matters,” Robin said. “I know that the label of sexual deviance is a loaded term, and that kind of term can be traumatic to someone that’s been raped by a member of the same gender.” At Middle Way House, the sanctions and response are the same regardless of terminology, she said. “A survivor is a survivor.” ***In September 2009, the Monroe County Prosecutor’s Office established a sex crimes deputy prosecutor position thanks to a federal stimulus grant.For about two and a half years, Rebecca Veidlinger occupied that position. Then the grant expired at the beginning of 2012, and the county didn’t have the funds to sustain the position. But during her time as the sex crimes deputy prosecutor, Veidlinger said she became an expert in handling such cases. The cases she handled, at the time, were exclusively sex crimes. So when the grant expired and the money ran out, she became a felony deputy, an arrangement that still allowed Veidlinger to specialize in sex crimes but handle a copious mix of other types of crimes, too.“I’m going to get comfortable,” she said, propping her legs atop her desk. “The legislation I’ve seen essentially does away with criminal deviate conduct as a separate crime and just incorporates it into rape. And so under the proposed legislation, a forced anal penetration by one man of another man would be rape.” State Sens. Sue Landske, R-Cedar Lake, and Brent Steele, R-Bedford, co-authored a bill that would do exactly that.Senate Bill 374 underwent its first reading Jan. 8.If passed, the legislation would “merge the offense of criminal deviate conduct into the crime of rape.” It would also repeal the statute defining the crime of criminal deviate conduct. In January 2012, the FBI expanded its definition of rape to include male victims as well as forced anal and oral penetration. Until that point, the definition had remained unchanged since 1929. “The penetration, no matter how slight, of the vagina or anus with any body part or object, or oral penetration by a sex organ of another person, without the consent of the victim,” the FBI’s most recent definition reads, versus the old definition of “the carnal knowledge of a female, forcibly and against her will.” The redefinition was implemented in hopes “of leading to a more comprehensive statistical reporting of rape nationwide,” according to the U.S. Department of Justice Office of Public Affairs."The Indiana change would not be a substantive kind of change,” Veidlinger said. “It’s a language change.” Substantive, she said, means something that is illegal becomes legal or something that was previously legal becomes illegal.The law is actually not gender-discriminatory in the sense of a sexual assault, she said. Criminal deviate conduct is the same level offense as rape considering they’re both Class B felonies and under the same conditions. “Because you’re calling one ‘deviate conduct’ and one is called ‘rape.’ And although it’s ‘deviate,’ sometimes people misspeak and call it ‘deviant.’ So it’s a legitimate criticism of the language, for sure,” she said. “Language carries judgment with it.” Veidlinger said sexual assault is one of the most underreported crimes in the country, citing that the number of same-sex assaults not reported perhaps surpass the amount of non-reported male-female sexual assaults three-fold. “I can tell you right now, what the legislature is focusing on, is they’re completely revamping the criminal code,” she said. “The whole criminal code — massively. This is what all the prosecutors across the state are talking about.” ***The walls that make up the perimeter of the IU Health Center’s fourth floor are largely consumed with motivational posters and wooden racks flooded with self-help pamphlets. Many detail information about various crisis service centers as well as treatment and counseling resources for sexual assault victims. Gary Stepp, known to most as “Brad,” is a psychologist working out of the health center’s Counseling and Psychological Services. “I think there are certain barriers to disclosing, not only to the police, but also to mental health providers, that they’ve been sexually assaulted by someone of the same sex,” Stepp said. “Some perceive that the police would not take it as seriously if it’s a same-sex sexual assault, which given Indiana’s code, I don’t think that that’s an unreasonable fear and a fear that has been substantiated over the years.” Stepp said he works with his patients, including victims of same-sex sexual assault, in an open-ended manner, encouraging them to arrive at their own realizations. He steers clear of pressuring them into pursuing formal charges or prosecution.“I try to be very careful not to push on them on what I think they should do, because I feel it takes away some of the power they’ve already had taken away because of the sexual assault,” Stepp said. “I really try to support them, he said, and empower them the best I can.” Same-sex sexual assault may very well be under-reported on the IU campus, he said, and it needs to be addressed and discussed. Party scenes and intimate relationships, he said, are the types of situations in which this type of assault is most likely to occur. “Even though the current law in Indiana doesn’t currently recognize their trauma in an equitable fashion as non-same-sex sexual assault, there is support for them,” he said. “They are not alone. Absolutely not.” ***As Shani Robin expressed her frustration with the system, her voice, at first calm, became increasingly concerned and flustered.
(01/08/13 2:34am)
Mike Lutes, operator of the bulldozer at the street department, treks down a salt mound Monday afternoon at the Bloomington City Utilities Department.
