The College Fix

Illinois State University tells community there are no suspects, but leaves out key details

The alleged victim of an anti-gay “hate crime” at Illinois State University is not even homosexual – and he changed his story multiple times, according to a police report obtained by The College Fix.

Though the police and university left the community with the impression the case was closed because of a lack of suspects and that the unnamed individual was “knocked” off a scooter and “punched,” the official report from the incident four months ago tells a different story.

“Although this was reported as a possible Hate Crime, I was unable to establish the elements of the offense,” Detective Matthew Hice wrote at the end of the police report about the Aug. 24 incident.

One reason is, according to Hice’s recounting, the alleged victim, “could not recall [his attacker’s] height, weight, clothing details, or any unique features. He stated he would not recognize them if he saw them again.”

The event led to LGBT marches and a response from ISU President Aondover Tarhule.

“I understand the anxieties that different groups and demographics feel, and my hope is that one day we live in a society, and in particular a university, where nobody has to feel those kinds of anxieties, where nobody questions the degree to which they belong,” Tarhule said. “Having said that, I think there’s always going to be a difference between how quickly people want you to react versus when you have enough information that makes you feel comfortable that you are speaking from a position of fact.”

Tarhule’s hesitancy proved prescient when, after ISU police conducted eight interviews, reviewed security camera footage from a variety of places, and used wireless access data, the case was closed in September. ISU police closed the case due to an inability to identify any suspects, but Chief Aaron Woodruff told the media, “Hate crimes have no place on our campus.”

The university initially denied The Fix access to the police report due to a misunderstanding public records law when it comes to closed cases. It turned the report over after The Fix sought assistance from the Illinois attorney general’s office, which intervened.

The first, and actually only real attack was “random” according to Detective Hice. The victim is not gay but told police he believes he was called that because he was riding on a scooter.

The term “faggot” was not even yelled at the student, but between friends, according to the report. Multiple people in the area said a group of students were “intoxicated.” They did not recall hearing the slurs when questioned by police.

Hice further detailed why he wanted the case closed:

[The victim said] he was punched in the jaw by one attacker and then ‘Two of the five people then continued to punch him for about 30 seconds, repeatedly shouting “[f-word] you, faggot,’ while the other three encouraged them by saying “kick his ass.” The video showed the contact with Group 1 lasting about one second. The contact is difficult to see in the video. It appears contact was made by one individual, wall, he immediately gets on his scooter and left the area. There was no secondary attack as previously described.

The initial police officer, Amy Giese, reviewed video footage and said it “does not show a physical confrontation,” as the victim reported.

The alleged victim also “retracted his earlier statement of being repeatedly punched and clarified he was pushed into the west wall of the Bone Student Center by a member of the group, which caused him to dismount from his scooter,” according to Giese’s report on Aug. 26. Despite this, a “hate crime” charge was then added to the report.

The Fix asked the university and campus police why they did not tell the public the narrative had changed and if there would be future statements to ensure the LGBT community knows there is not an anti-gay attacker out on the loose, along with asking if there were any further updates to the case.

Chief Woodruff said “the lack of sufficient evidence to make an arrest does not mean the incident did not occur, or that the report was misclassified,” and that “‘unable to establish the elements of the offense’ reflects the investigator’s determination there was insufficient evidence to meet the burden of proof requirements for an arrest (probable cause).”

“In compliance with the Clery Act, the University is required to alert the campus community to certain reported crimes (including hate crimes), in a manner that is timely and will aid in the prevention of similar crimes,” he said. “Pursuant to the Illinois Hate Crime statute, set forth below in pertinent part, a hate crime may occur based on either an actual or a perceived trait,” Woodruff said, responding to a question about why the victim’s true sexual identity was not revealed.

Woodruff again cited the Clery Act when answering a question about why the police did not share that reviewed footage did not show a confrontation and the alleged victim’s statement was in conflict with the video.

He did not directly respond to why the police did not explain this to the public, instead saying: “The referenced statement from the report indicates only that the footage from a single camera view in the area did not capture the physical confrontation.”

“Following the conclusion of the investigation, the University issued a follow up communication to the campus on October 9, 2024, summarizing the investigation and indicating there was insufficient evidence to make arrests,” he said.

There are no new leads, according to campus police. University media relations told The Fix it had nothing to add to Woodruff’s response.

One student called it a “shame” the case was closed.

“As a student of Illinois State University in solidarity with the LGBTQ+ community and all students on campus, the suspects do not scare me, nor do any other hate crime. I will not be stripped of my identity because another person doesn’t approve,” Andrew Franson told WGLT.

The Fix reached out an LGBT group on campus for comment on the revelations from the police report but did not receive a response to three inquiries in the past several weeks.

The university previously announced it had closed an investigation into an alleged racial slur at a basketball game because it could not “verify” the claim.

MORE: ‘N-word notes at Rhodes College were a hoax

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