The University of Oregon administration released a timeline earlier today detailing their response to the report of an alleged sexual assault that occurred on March 9 and involved four UO students. According to the UO’s Media Relations page, the timeline pulls together information from the initial Eugene Police Department report of the alleged crime, as well as details from university departments involved in the investigation into the alleged perpetrators, former men’s basketball players Damyean Dotson, Brandon Austin and Dominic Artis.
This timeline for the first time fills in a number of details previously unknown to the press or university audience, including the date that UO President Michael Gottfredson initially learned the identities of the men’s basketball players (though the source of that information is not disclosed), dates on which the University of Oregon Police Department and UO legal representation reached out to EPD for information and the responses that they received.
According to the university, the timeline contains only those facts that are not “protected by student privacy laws,” including outreach to the parties involved or any specific services provided. The website also states that the timeline is intended as a demonstration of compliance to their overlapping duties to uphold the student conduct code, federal laws regulating the immediacy of investigation into alleged crimes, the boundaries of a criminal investigation set by EPD and offering support resources to the alleged survivor.
Below is a full chronology of the events as presented by the UO:
March 8/9: Alleged sexual assault incident involving three members of the men’s basketball team occurs at parties at two off-campus locations. (Information from EPD investigation report)
March 9: Survivor tells her father of the incident; father contacts UOPD. UOPD attempts to contact survivor twice; she does not return calls. (Information from EPD investigation report.) University immediately implements policies and procedures used whenever anyone reports sexual violence. In every case these processes would include support and services for survivors and a code of conduct investigation.
March 11: Survivor prepares her own description of the incident, which she does not share with police until March 14. (Information from EPD investigation report)
March 13 – 14: Survivor contacts Eugene Police Department. Officer interviews survivor on campus. She tells the officer she wants to report the information in her own time. A detective contacts and interviews her on March 14, asks her to record phone conversations with suspects. She agrees. (Information from EPD investigation report)
March 17: Eugene Police detective contacts survivor, who confirms that she recorded phone calls with two suspects. The survivor delivers the recordings to Eugene Police. (Information from EPD investigation report)
March 17: UO asks Eugene police specifically if any players should be kept back from the NCAA Tournament, or if contingency plans should be made to return them to campus. EPD advises the university to do nothing to alert the players to the investigation, to do what they normally would do regarding who plays and who doesn’t. EPD declines to reveal the names of any players.
March 18: UO contacts Eugene police again to ask if the players should travel to the tournament. EPD again advises the university not to alter their plans.
March 19: President Gottfredson learns the names of the student-athletes being investigated. The president maintains the confidentiality of this information to protect the integrity of the criminal investigation.
March 20 – April 3: Eugene Police investigation continues.
March 21: UOPD calls EPD to request an update and receives no information.
March 26: UO General Counsel calls EPD to request an update and receives no information.
April 3: EPD investigator interviews two suspects and arranges to interview a third suspect, who asks to speak with an attorney. (Information from EPD investigation report)
April 7: UO calls EPD to request an update and learns that the investigation is not yet complete.
April 7: EPD investigator contacted by player’s attorney. Attorney provides short synopsis of his version of events, which is similar to those provided by the two other players. (Information from EPD investigation report)
April 8: EPD investigation is complete and the report is sent to Lane County District Attorney. (Information from EPD investigation report)
April 8: EPD informs the UO that it is suspending fact gathering. UO immediately begins its fact gathering. UO requests the police report from EPD. Police say the report is not going to be released because it has not yet been redacted and attorneys must review the report.
April 14: Lane County District Attorney notifies EPD that they will not file criminal charges. (Information from Eugene Police)
April 22: UO makes request for police report from the Lane County DA.
April 23: UO follows up on request for police report with Lane County DA.
April 24: UO receives 24-page redacted police report from the Lane County DA.
April 25-28: UO conducts internal legal review of the police report.
April 28: President Gottfredson is briefed on police report.
April 29: Athletic Director Rob Mullens reviews the police report.
April 30: Dana Altman reviews the police report.
May 1: Three student-athletes are suspended from the basketball team, and will no longer be participating in basketball at the University of Oregon.