The following legal definitions are provided to assist in understanding when behavior that violates College policy may also violate federal or state law. If you believe you have been a victim of a crime, please consider taking action to preserve any evidence that may be helpful to you in pursuing legal or protective action. You have the right to pursue both the criminal and the campus processes to address incidents which may violate both the law and campus policy. The campus process is not designed to be a substitute for the criminal justice process. You can also review or print a brochure of your rights and options.
a. Sex Offenses, defined by the FBI as any sexual act directed against another person without the consent of the victim, including instances where the victim is incapable of giving consent. This includes:
b. Domestic Violence: As defined in section 40002(a) of the Violence Against Women Act of 1994 (42 U.S.C. 13925(a)), domestic violence means a felony or misdemeanor crime of violence committed by:
c. Dating Violence: As defined in section 40002(a) of the Violence Against Women Act of 1994 (42 U.S.C. 13925(a)), dating violence means violence committed by a person who is or has been in a social relationship of a romantic or intimate nature with the victim; and where the existence of such a relationship shall be determined based on a consideration of the following factors: the length of the relationship; the type of relationship; and the frequency of interaction between the persons involved in the relationship.
d. Sexual Assault, defined in the State of Illinois as “Sexual penetration by force or threat of force or an act of sexual penetration when the victim was unable to understand the nature of the act or was unable to give knowing consent.” (720 ILCS 5 Criminal Code of 1961 § 12-13) Illinois State Law defines sexual penetration as: “Any contact, however slight, between the sex organ or anus of one person by an object, the sex organ, mouth or anus of another person, or any intrusion, however slight, of any part of the body of one person or of any object into the sex organ or anus of another person, including but not limited to cunnilingus, fellatio, or anal penetration. Evidence of emission of semen is not required to prove sexual penetration.” (720 ILCS 5 Criminal Code of 1961 §12-12(f))
e. Stalking: Section 40002(a) of the Violence Against Women Act of 1994 (42 U.S.C. 13925(a)) defines stalking as: engaging in a course of conduct directed at a specific person that would cause a reasonable person to fear for the person’s safety or the safety of others or suffer substantial emotional distress. (For the purpose of this definition, “Course of conduct” means two or more acts, including, but not limited to, acts in which the stalker directly, indirectly, or through third parties, by any action, method, device, or means follows, monitors, observes, surveils, threatens, or communicates to or about, a person, or interferes with a person’s property. “Substantial emotional distress” means significant mental suffering or anguish that may, but does not necessarily, require medical or other professional treatment or counseling. “Reasonable person” means a reasonable person under similar circumstances and with a similar identity to the victim.
