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Berkshire DA: Inconsistencies In Alleged Attack On Student Of Color

A building at Bard College at Simon's Rock in Great Barrington, Massachusetts.
Eric Allix Rogers
/
Creative Commons / flickr.com/photos/reallyboring
A building at Bard College at Simon's Rock in Great Barrington, Massachusetts.

The Berkshire County District Attorney's office has issued an update on its investigation of an alleged assault at Bard College at Simon's Rock. It says there are inconsistencies between the reported assault and the evidence gathered by law enforcement. 

On a Friday afternoon in late September, campus safety officers at Simon's Rock received a report of an assault on a student of color in some woods on the Great Barrington, Massachusetts, campus. Police said Berkshire Medical Center treated the student for minor injuries.

According to a statement on Wednesday from the DA's office, the initial report said the student was knocked unconscious, dragged into the woods, and woke up with cuts through the student's clothing and on the torso.

The statement said that although the area where the student was allegedly pulled was muddy, investigators found no dirt on the student's clothing or body — and that the wounds "did not align with the cuts on the student's clothing."

The DA's office also said there are no records showing a medical reason for unconsciousness.

The alleged assault and the college's response sparked the resignation of a part-time professor, according to The Berkshire Eagle.

Simon's Rock has hired an investigator that the college said is independent of law enforcement.

Nancy Eve Cohen is a senior reporter focusing on Berkshire County. Earlier in her career she was NPR’s Midwest editor in Washington, D.C., managing editor of the Northeast Environmental Hub and recorded sound for TV networks on global assignments, including the war in Sarajevo and an interview with Fidel Castro.