{ "id": "2024-11-16-cu-boulder-farrand-field-sexual-contact", "slug": "cu-boulder-farrand-field-sexual-contact-2024-11-16", "institution": { "name": "University of Colorado Boulder", "shortName": "CU Boulder", "state": "CO", "type": "public-r1", "alertSystemName": "CU Safety Alert", "enrollment": 39000 }, "incident": { "date": "2024-11-16", "type": "sexual-offense", "cleryCategory": "timely-warning", "headline": "Reported unlawful sexual contact during a campus field event prompts a safety alert", "headlinePublic": "Reported unlawful sexual contact during a campus field event prompts a safety alert", "summary": "CU Boulder issued a [CU Safety Alert](https://alerts.colorado.edu/2024/11/16/cu-safety-alert-reported-unlawful-sexual-contact-farrand-field) after a reported unlawful sexual contact during an event on Farrand Field between 8:30 and 9:10 a.m. MST on Saturday, November 16, 2024. The alert gave a detailed clothing-based suspect description and a CUPD case number while disclosing nothing about the victim, illustrating the [Clery Act's](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clery_Act) balance between actionable warning and survivor privacy.", "resolution": "under-investigation" }, "alerts": [ { "sequence": 1, "type": "initial", "timestampApprox": "Afternoon of November 16, 2024 (after a morning incident window of 8:30-9:10 a.m. MST)", "channel": "email", "verbatimText": "[11:29 a.m. Saturday, November 16, 2024]\n\nCUPD is investigating a reported incident of unlawful sexual contact that occurred during an event on Farrand Field between 8:30 and 9:10 a.m. on Saturday, November 16.\n\nPolice are searching for the suspect. The suspect is described as a 25 to 30 year old male, dark brown or black hair, longer on top and faded short hair on the sides. The suspect is clean-shaven, wearing a silver windbreaker jacket, possibly a shimmery, metallic material. The suspect was carrying a black phone with a red case.\n\nView a map of the location of this incident.\n\nCUPD is investigating. Anyone with information regarding this crime or the suspect’s location is encouraged to contact CUPD at (303) 492-6666, reference case number 2024-2329. If you wish to share information anonymously, information on how to contact Safe2Tell, Don’t Ignore It or Colorado Crime Stoppers is available on the CUPD website: https://www.colorado.edu/police/records-reports/anonymous-reporting\n\nIf additional information becomes available regarding this incident, it will be added to the CU Boulder Alerts website:  https://alerts.colorado.edu/\n\nCU Boulder’s Division of Public Safety provides security support for all large events held on campus. In an emergency, please call 911 to be routed to the DPS communications center.\n\nTo learn more about prevention, support resources and reporting options, go to our comprehensive website which includes how to look out for and support others: https://www.colorado.edu/dontignoreit/\n\nCampus Safety Information\n\nThis message is being sent pursuant to the Jeanne Clery Disclosure of Campus Security Policy and Campus Crime Statistics Act (“Clery Act”), a federal law that requires disclosure of major crime and policy information. For more information on the Clery Act and CU Boulder’s policies, please see the Clery website.\n\nHelp fight crime by reporting suspicious persons or activity to CUPD immediately.\n\nPlease note that CU Boulder's Police Department is committed to ensuring that individuals' identities/protected class are not considered the basis for suspicion; only the reported behaviors are taken into consideration when investigating a case. Additionally, the observed/assumed sex assignment placed in alerts is not intended to be definitive or prescriptive. We will continue to put forth efforts to minimize and eliminate the potential harms placed on our community as a result of this action.\n\nIf you have experienced a traumatic incident, you have options for services and assistance. For free and confidential support please contact CU Boulder’s Office of Victim Assistance (OVA), https://www.colorado.edu/ova/ 303-492-8855 (24/7 phone support). OVA is a resource for those impacted by a traumatic experience as well as for witnesses and those supporting impacted people.", "isVerbatimConfirmed": true, "sourceUrl": "https://alerts.colorado.edu/2024/11/16/cu-safety-alert-reported-unlawful-sexual-contact-farrand-field", "sourceDescription": "CU Boulder Alerts official archive, page titled 'CU Safety Alert: Reported Unlawful Sexual Contact on Farrand Field', November 16, 2024", "annotations": [ "Detailed suspect description (clothing, hair, even a phone-case color) but zero victim detail, the asymmetry is the whole point of a sex-offense timely warning", "Uses the Colorado statutory term 'unlawful sexual contact' rather than colloquial language, keeping the legal framing precise", "Tight incident window (8:30-9:10 a.m. MST) is given because the event context made it knowable without identifying the victim", "Offers three separate anonymous reporting channels (Safe2Tell, Don't Ignore It, Colorado Crime Stoppers), lowering the barrier to tips", "Includes a CUPD case number (2024-2329), letting witnesses route information precisely", "Audit 2026-10-12: verbatim text replaced with the notice body from the live page. Page title, h1, and site chrome are not included." ], "characterCount": 2834 } ], "context": "CU Boulder's [CU Safety Alert](https://alerts.colorado.edu/2024/11/16/cu-safety-alert-reported-unlawful-sexual-contact-farrand-field) for the November 16, 2024 Farrand Field incident is a clean example of the genre's defining asymmetry: a richly detailed suspect description paired with total silence about the victim. Because the contact occurred during a public event on a well-known campus green, CUPD could publish a tight time window and a clothing-based description without any risk of identifying the survivor. The university maintains a public [CU Safety Alert archive](https://alerts.colorado.edu/taxonomy/term/2), and the same year produced parallel unlawful-sexual-contact alerts at [Colorado Ave. and Folsom St.](https://alerts.colorado.edu/2024/08/29/reported-unlawful-sexual-contact-colorado-ave-and-folsom-st) and later at [Lot 177](https://alerts.colorado.edu/2025/08/29/cu-safety-alert-reported-unlawful-sexual-contact-lot-177). CU's communications office has [explained its alert taxonomy publicly](https://www.colorado.edu/today/2025/01/28/be-informed-what-know-about-cu-boulder-alerts), distinguishing emergency notifications from Clery safety alerts (timely warnings) for sex offenses, stalking, and dating violence. The Farrand Field alert directs tips to three anonymous channels, reflecting an understanding that many community members will know something but hesitate to call police directly.", "keyFindings": [ "Detailed suspect description with no victim information is the structural signature of a sex-offense timely warning", "A public-event setting let CUPD publish a precise time window without compromising the survivor", "Three anonymous reporting paths (Safe2Tell, Don't Ignore It, Crime Stoppers) broaden the tip funnel", "CU Boulder issued multiple structurally identical unlawful-sexual-contact alerts in 2024-2025, showing a consistent template" ], "sources": [ { "title": "CU Safety Alert: Reported Unlawful Sexual Contact on Farrand Field", "url": "https://alerts.colorado.edu/2024/11/16/cu-safety-alert-reported-unlawful-sexual-contact-farrand-field", "type": "official-archive" }, { "title": "CU Safety Alert archive", "url": "https://alerts.colorado.edu/taxonomy/term/2", "type": "official-archive" }, { "title": "Be informed: What to know about CU Boulder alerts", "url": "https://www.colorado.edu/today/2025/01/28/be-informed-what-know-about-cu-boulder-alerts", "type": "official-archive" } ], "confidence": "high", "tags": [ "sexual-offense", "timely-warning", "colorado", "cu-boulder", "suspect-description", "de-identification", "unlawful-sexual-contact", "public-r1" ], "dateAdded": "2026-05-28", "lastUpdated": "2026-10-12", "addedBy": "ingestion" }