Campus police and state law enforcement investigators are probing sexual assault allegations involving “several” members of the Furman University football team, multiple sources familiar with the situation told this news outlet.
The alleged incidents at the Greenville, S.C.-based school were said to have taken place in the early morning hours of October 6, 2019 and were reported to the S.C. State Law Enforcement Division (SLED) that same day.
We were initially informed of the incident from our network of Greenville sources earlier this week when our founding editor, Will Folks, traveled to the Upstate on business.
According to these sources, the investigation into these allegations is being led by the Furman police department with assistance from SLED – which is required by the state law (§ 59-154-10) to assist in investigating alleged sexual assaults that occur on South Carolina’s college campuses. Colleges can opt to have the agency lead the investigation, but in this case Furman police are taking the lead.
Such notification is required as a result of the Jessica Horton Law – a 2007 statute named for former University of South Carolina student Jessica Horton.
In 2002, Horton fell to her death from a sixth-floor dormitory on campus. Her parents did not believe school police were capable of conducting a proper investigation into her death, and so state senator Vincent Sheheen – who represented them in the S.C. Senate – introduced legislation putting SLED in charge of these inquiries.
Developing …
-FITSNews
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