{
  "id": "2024-03-05-liberty-university-stalking-timely-warning",
  "slug": "liberty-university-stalking-timely-warning-2024-03-05",
  "institution": {
    "name": "Liberty University",
    "shortName": "Liberty",
    "state": "VA",
    "type": "private-r2",
    "alertSystemName": "LU Alert",
    "enrollment": 15000
  },
  "incident": {
    "date": "2024-03-05",
    "type": "stalking",
    "cleryCategory": "timely-warning",
    "headline": "Stalking timely warning issued the day a record federal Clery fine was announced",
    "headlinePublic": "Stalking timely warning issued the day a record federal Clery fine was announced",
    "summary": "On the same day [Liberty University was fined a record $14 million](https://19thnews.org/2024/03/liberty-university-14-million-fine-clery-act-sexual-violence/) for Clery Act violations, Liberty University Police Department issued [Timely Warning Notification 24-003462](https://www.liberty.edu/security-public-safety/2024/03/05/lu-alert-timely-warning-notification-24-003462/), a stalking warning involving a student victim and an identified suspect who appeared at the victim's on-campus workplace and an off-campus gym.",
    "outcome": "The subject was identified by LUPD. Investigation continued. Liberty's overall Clery posture had just been the subject of a $14M fine assessed the same day by the Department of Education for systemic underreporting from 2016 to 2023.",
    "resolution": "under-investigation"
  },
  "alerts": [
    {
      "sequence": 1,
      "type": "initial",
      "timestampApprox": "Posted to Liberty's security and public safety news feed on March 5, 2024",
      "channel": "email",
      "verbatimText": "LU Alert: Timely Warning Notification (24-003462)\n\nStalking\n\nThis alert is being sent by the Jeanne Clery Act, as this incident represents a Clery Act crime that occurred on Clery Act geography and poses a serious or continuing threat to the campus community.\n\nIt has been reported that a student has been the victim of multiple instances of stalking between unknown dates. The individual has shown up at the victim’s place of work on-campus, as well as a personal gym located off-campus. Because of the individual’s actions, the victim has been placed in fear for their safety. The subject, in this case has been identified.\n\nIf you are in immediate danger, call Liberty University Police Department at 434-592-3911 or call 9-1-1. Criminal incidents can be reported to Liberty University Campus Security Authorities (CSAs) who are designated, trained, and mandatory reporters under the Clery Act when victims chose not to report to law enforcement.\n\nAccording to the National Intimate Partner and Sexual Violence Survey, nearly 1 in 6 women (16%, or 19.1 million) and about 1 in 17 (5.8% or 6.4 million) men in the U.S. were victims of stalking at some point in their lifetime, during which they felt very fearful or believed that they or someone close to them would be harmed or killed.\n\nTo prevent stalking, we must cultivate healthy relationship behaviors including trust, respect, communication, and consent. Liberty University defines consent as, “the voluntary and freely-given agreement, through words and / or actions, to participate in a mutually agreed-upon sexual act. Consensual sexual activity happens when each person willingly affirms that they choose to participate.” For more information on consent and stalking please see Liberty University’s Sexual Misconduct Policy.\n\nIf you or someone you know is experiencing stalking, there are confidential and non-confidential resources available to you both on and off campus. For information on support resources, services and programs at Liberty University please see the Office of Equity and Compliance’s website found here or the Liberty University’s Office of Security and Public Safety found here.",
      "isVerbatimConfirmed": true,
      "sourceUrl": "https://www.liberty.edu/security-public-safety/2024/03/05/lu-alert-timely-warning-notification-24-003462/",
      "sourceDescription": "Liberty University Security & Public Safety news (LU Alert archive): Timely Warning Notification 24-003462",
      "annotations": [
        "This warning was issued the SAME DAY the U.S. Department of Education fined Liberty $14 million for Clery Act violations, the largest Clery fine in history at that time",
        "The fine was for systemic underreporting between 2016 and 2023; a Target 7 investigation reported Liberty failed to accurately report 93% of campus crimes during that window",
        "The stalking course-of-conduct extended across both on-campus (workplace) and off-campus (personal gym) locations; Clery applies because the on-campus workplace falls within Clery geography",
        "'Subject in this case has been identified' is unusual specificity for a stalking timely warning",
        "Liberty's case-numbering (24-003462) likely indicates a sequential report number logged in 2024 as of early March",
        "Liberty University is a private evangelical R2 institution in Lynchburg, VA, the largest of its kind in the U.S.",
        "2026-09-21 second deep audit b51 P4 a1-noledger-single-alert-public-case. Recapture official product at product boundary. Dual html.parser walk+regex. Cap-exempt R1."
      ],
      "characterCount": 2163
    }
  ],
  "context": "[Liberty University](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liberty_University), a private evangelical R2 institution in [Lynchburg, Virginia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lynchburg,_Virginia) with approximately 15,000 residential students, issued this stalking timely warning on March 5, 2024, the same day the U.S. Department of Education announced a record [$14 million fine](https://www.insidehighered.com/news/students/safety/2024/03/05/liberty-university-fined-14-million-clery-violations) for systemic Clery Act violations. The fine, levied for systemic underreporting from 2016 to 2023, was the largest Clery penalty in history at the time. A separate [Target 7 investigation](https://www.wdbj7.com/2024/03/07/target-7-report-shows-liberty-university-failed-accurately-report-93-campus-crimes-2016-2023/) reported that Liberty had failed to accurately report 93% of campus crimes during that period, and prior [ProPublica](https://www.propublica.org/article/the-liberty-way-how-liberty-university-discourages-and-dismisses-students-reports-of-sexual-assaults) reporting documented institutional discouragement of sexual-assault reports. The stalking warning's specificity (including that the subject was identified and that the course-of-conduct spanned the victim's on-campus workplace and an off-campus gym) represents a notable shift from prior LU practice. Stalking is a [VAWA-covered Clery crime](https://www.justice.gov/ovw/violence-against-women-reauthorization-act-2013) that requires timely warning when continuing-threat conditions are met.",
  "keyFindings": [
    "Liberty issued this stalking warning on the same day a record $14M Clery fine, the largest under the Clery Act at that time, was assessed against the university",
    "The warning included unusual specificity for a stalking notice (identified subject, on-campus and off-campus locations)",
    "Stalking course-of-conduct here spans the victim's workplace (on Clery geography) and a personal gym (off-campus), illustrating how stalking transcends campus boundaries",
    "Liberty's prior 93% under-reporting rate (2016-2023, per Target 7) makes any single timely warning a data point of national interest",
    "The case demonstrates that VAWA timely warnings cover student-employees in their on-campus workplace, not only in academic settings"
  ],
  "sources": [
    {
      "title": "LU Alert: Timely Warning Notification (24-003462), Liberty University",
      "url": "https://www.liberty.edu/security-public-safety/2024/03/05/lu-alert-timely-warning-notification-24-003462/",
      "type": "official-archive"
    },
    {
      "title": "Liberty University fined a historic $14 million for failing to report crimes on campus (The 19th)",
      "url": "https://19thnews.org/2024/03/liberty-university-14-million-fine-clery-act-sexual-violence/",
      "type": "local-media"
    },
    {
      "title": "Liberty University fined $14 million for Clery violations (Inside Higher Ed)",
      "url": "https://www.insidehighered.com/news/students/safety/2024/03/05/liberty-university-fined-14-million-clery-violations",
      "type": "local-media"
    },
    {
      "title": "Target 7: Liberty failed to accurately report 93% of campus crimes from 2016 to 2023 (WDBJ7)",
      "url": "https://www.wdbj7.com/2024/03/07/target-7-report-shows-liberty-university-failed-accurately-report-93-campus-crimes-2016-2023/",
      "type": "local-media"
    },
    {
      "title": "Liberty University Hit With Record Fines (ProPublica)",
      "url": "https://www.propublica.org/article/liberty-university-fined-sexual-assault-safety",
      "type": "local-media"
    }
  ],
  "confidence": "high",
  "tags": [
    "stalking",
    "vawa",
    "timely-warning",
    "liberty-university",
    "clery-fine",
    "private-r2",
    "evangelical",
    "virginia",
    "post-enforcement-action",
    "identified-suspect"
  ],
  "dateAdded": "2026-05-03",
  "lastUpdated": "2026-09-21",
  "addedBy": "ingestion"
}