{
  "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\nLiberty University Police Department (LUPD) is sending this Timely Warning to the Liberty community in accordance with 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\nA student is reported to be a victim of multiple instances of stalking that occurred between unknown dates. The individual showed 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.\n\nThe subject in this case has been identified.\n\nIf you are in immediate danger, please call the Liberty University Police Department at 434-592-3911 or 9-1-1.",
      "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."
      ],
      "characterCount": 810
    }
  ],
  "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": "2026-06-01",
  "addedBy": "ingestion"
}