{ "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": "CU Safety Alert: Reported Unlawful Sexual Contact on Farrand Field\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\nThe 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\nAnyone with information regarding this crime or the suspect's location is encouraged to contact CUPD at (303) 492-6666, reference case number 2024-2329. Anonymous information can be shared through Safe2Tell, Don't Ignore It or Colorado Crime Stoppers via the CUPD website.", "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" ], "characterCount": 802 } ], "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": "2026-05-28", "addedBy": "ingestion" }