27 may be victims of date-rape drug

Ashley Feibish / News Editor

Nationally, date-rape is a common crime often committed by acquaintances. At Elon, incidents involving common date-rape drugs are on the rise.

Twenty-seven female students reported being possible recipients of a date-rape drug this academic year, according to Crossroads Sexual Assault Response and Resource Center.

Twenty-four cases have been reported during the spring semester alone.

All were alcohol-related.

“We believe something was put in their drinks,” said Deana Joy, crisis response coordinator for Crossroads. “Several girls have been to the hospital in the last month (most likely from a date-rape drug such as GHB or Rohypnol).”

Some of the alleged recent victims shared similar symptoms, varying from nausea and headaches to disorientation and being unable to recall a time period from anywhere between four to six hours, Joy said.

“Do not take cigarettes or alcohol from anyone.” Joy said. Cigarette filters can be dipped in a liquid form of a date-rape drug and are just as potent as drinking a drink spiked with a (traditional) date-rape drug, Joy said.

Kitty Parrish, director of health services, said she has not received any confirmed results of incidents indicating the presence of a date-rape drug on campus.

If you suspect you have been a victim, you might not remember what happened, Parrish said.

“Never leave a drink unattended. Don’t leave a party with someone you don’t know. You think you know people. (If you suspect you have been a victim) you won’t remember what happened. You need to be checked within 24 hours and remember that it’s confidential,” Parrish said.

Dan Ingle, an investigator with Campus Safety and Police said he was investigating two reported cases involving date-rape drugs. One case was reported earlier in the school year, while another was reported to Campus Safety and police just days ago.

“We don’t have any hard evidence. Nothing’s tested positive for GHB or Rohypnol,” Ingle said. “It’s early-on in the investigation.”

Ingle expressed concern for the Crossroads statistic.

Twenty-seven is a high number,” he said.

Ingle explained that obtaining evidence is difficult when dealing with incidents of date-rape drugs. “Me make an effort to obtain physical evidence through blood samples and urine samples,” he said. “And we try to interview the people present (at the scene of the incident). People need to get tested as quickly as possible.”

According to Ingle, traces of date-rape drugs are difficult to detect more than 24 hours after ingestion. “The life span is very short when you’re talking about blood. Urine is a little longer—maybe 36 hours in urine samples,” he said.

If you have been the victim of rape or sexual assault, contact Crossroads 24-hour crisis line at 228-0360.