For many students who bring themselves to find out where the sex offenders in Keene live, the realization may be intimidating. There are 24 registered sex offenders in Keene, and 11 of them live within a mile of the Keene State College campus. But what’s scarier is the proven fact that students are more likely to be sexually offended by someone they know than a registered sex offender hiding behind some imaginary bushes.
Yes that can still happen, but as officials from Campus Safety, the Keene Police Department, and the Counseling Center have all said, the chances are over 90 percent that the perpetrator of a sexual offense is someone the victim knows, is currently seeing romantically or is a fellow college student. Offenders are not just picking people off the street; they’re going for people they know, or wait until alcohol is part of the situation.
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The sad thing is that sexual crimes are the most under-reported crime in the country, and this can be applied to Keene. In the whole city of Keene, including campus-reported crimes, only three sexual offenses were reported to KPD in the last semester. If anyone can believe this is an accurate depiction of the sexual activity of Keene residents, then please speak now.
It is the opinion of The Equinox that the problem remains that not enough people are reporting sexual related crimes. The most important part of this discussion is that we would hope that victims of sexual crimes wouldn’t let anything hold them back from reporting something that was unwillingly done to them.
Are you really going to let being drunk at a party hold you back from reporting an awful crime that was committed against you? Because most of these sexual offenses take place under the influence of alcohol anyway. Not to mention that in the student handbook it states that, “When conducting an investigation of an alleged sexual assault, the college’s focus will be on addressing the sexual assault and not on lesser policy violations.”
You might have the information to help find someone that has already been reported to the police. You are also standing up and saying that Keene isn’t as safe as it could be, and you want people to know that these things still happen.