VPD charges former student for rape and dorm shower videotaping
A former student was arrested Aug. 28 on charges of filming females in resident hall showers on the fourth floor of Mickelson Hall in North Complex. Five days later, he was arrested again and charged with an off-campus rape of a university student in the third degree.
Daniel R. Hammer, 18, withdrew from the university either Sept. 1 or 2, according to Kim Grieve, vice president of Student Services and dean of students. The initial charges involved the use or dissemination of visual recording or photographic device without consent and with intent to self-gratify, harass or embarrass.
According to the Clay County criminal complaint documents, Hammer recorded or photographed “another person without clothing or under or through the clothing, for the purpose of viewing the body of, or the undergarments worn by, that other person, without the consent or knowledge of that other person…under circumstances in which the other person has a reasonable expectation of privacy.”
The Vermillion Police Department then arrested Hammer on charges of rape in the third degree Aug. 30. The report states the victim was “incapable, because of physical or mental incapacity, of giving consent to such act” or “was incapable of giving consent because of an intoxicating, narcotic or anesthetic agent of hypnosis” on South Pine Street.
The incident occurred two days after he was removed from university housing because of the video recording incident in Mickelson Hall.
According to court documents, which were obtained by The Volante from the Clay County Clerk of Courts, the rape victim returned to her residence and went to bed at 3 a.m. on Aug. 30. The report also states she later told friends she felt that “at some point during the night…someone was inside her but was too scared to turn her head to find out who it was.”
The probable cause report states that Hammer admitted to raping the victim.
Hammer’s bail was set for $70,000 for the rape and the condition of no contact with the victim. He is scheduled for an initial appearance in court at 9 a.m. Tuesday, Oct. 28 at the Clay County Courthouse. Hammer’s driver’s license identifies him as a resident of Texas.
Grieve, who would not identify Hammer by name, said the university became aware of the taping when a student alerted a community adviser and the incident was reported to university police. The University Police Department then questioned residents on the floor Aug. 28 and a resident identified Hammer, she said.
“Immediately, once the student was allegedly identified, the student was given a persona non grata for all of housing,” Grieve said. “They were not allowed to be in housing any longer.”
Grieve said the phone containing related video and all evidence was turned over to the State’s Attorney’s office and the university has not seen its contents.
Fourth floor Mickelson residents weren’t told about the taping until Sept. 9 during a floor meeting — 12 days after the taping incident. Grieve said students weren’t notified immediately because Hammer was identified and removed from campus.
“Students are notified if there’s an immediate threat to the campus community,” Grieve said. “If the situation has been taken care of, then students aren’t immediately notified.”
Grieve also stressed the importance of bystander intervention to keep everyone safe.
“To keep everyone safe, it takes eyes and ears, and each one of us needs to be responsible for reporting anything we are uncomfortable with,” she said.
First-year Caitlyn Lint, a resident of fourth floor Mickelson Hall, said she didn’t hear about the taping incident until the Sept. 9 hall meeting.
“We were told there was a male in the female’s bathroom and he had his phone on him,” Lint said. “They didn’t really tell us whether he was taking pictures or filming, he was just caught in the woman’s bathroom.”
Now, residents on the floor are a little less trusting.
“I think people’s doors have been shut more,” Lint said. “Everyone used to have it open, or cracked a little bit, but now they’re all shut. I know me and my roommate, we have been careful to lock our door more.”
First-year Clare Snyder, another resident of fourth floor Mickelson Hall, said she first heard about the taping from other fourth floor Mickelson residents.
“I was sitting in (my room) and I heard a bunch of commotion in the hall,” Snyder said. “Everyone was talking about it.”
As a response to the taping incident, Grieve said the university is considering placing keys or electronic card swipes on 22 different bathroom doors in resident halls so only residents of a floor can access the restroom for their gender. If a visitor was on the floor, their host would have to let the visitor into the restroom.
The university has also launched its own investigation into the taping incident.
Clay County State’s Attorney Teddi Gertsma would not comment on who has seen the video and whether victims will be notified if they are in any footage. Gertsma denied an initial request for Hammer’s arrest report, citing privacy.
“If you’re charged even with a DUI, the last thing you want to do is see you slobbering and falling in the ditch the next day,” Gertsma said.
A Freedom of Information Act request for the reports was also denied at the time of request because both incidents are ongoing investigations. The Volante filed a FOIA request for Hammer’s booking and bail documents to the State’s Attorney Office. The Volante then obtained the requested documents Monday from the Clay County Clerk of Courts.
