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While responding to a resident advisor's call about a woman passed out in West Hall, UPD Patrol Officer John Bass found an incoherent drunken female juvenile who later claimed to have been sexually assaulted.

The 16-year-old non-student was located at 2:55 a.m., Nov. 9, along with three other underage drinkers, one a juvenile. Upon making contact with the 16-year-old, Bass found that the girl was in physical distress and contacted the Anchorage Fire Department, who had her transported to the Alaska Native Medical Center.

“I want to say her blood alcohol level was .25,” said Robert Bachand, university police chief.

The girl was transported to the hospital, while another juvenile and a minor found nearby, also non-students, were cited for minor consuming alcohol (MCA). They were from Fairbanks. Officer Bass contacted their mother at a motel room, and she asked the officer to drop her children off. Officer Bass went out of his way to perform this service.

Later that morning, an officer was sent to speak to the girl in the hospital. She was still intoxicated and was cited for MCA. By 11:03 a.m. on Nov. 9, she had sobered up enough to ask a nurse what had happened since she had no memory of events. She then claimed to have been sexually assaulted the night before.

“Three officers spent the next one and a-half days investigating the claim,” Bachand said. “She was examined and interviewed by a group that covers all rape victim investigations. It was concluded that she had not been sexually assaulted.”

As a result, the juvenile was trespassed from UAA campus.

“That means if she wants to come back to study here, to attend sporting events, anything, she must first contact me. Her mother would have to be involved, as would the Dean of Students,” Bachand said. “This kind of case makes me angry and I don't know who to be angry with. The girl, her mother – a lot of time and man-hours went into this investigation.”

To date, UPD has issued 54 MCA citations this semester. Three of those cites were of juveniles under the age of 18. Twenty-four of that number are current students, six were non-current students and 12 were never students. Two have been cited twice for consuming alcohol. Of the MCA citations, 28 were issued to students living in campus housing.

“Unless you want barracks type of housing, citations are the only thing we as a police department can do, other than what we do now,” Bachand said. “It is not like we peek through keyholes; we come because there are calls about drinkers causing problems.”