Notre Dame's Response to Lizzy Seeberg Investigation

Dec. 21, 2010 — -- The University of Notre Dame released the following statement in response to a GMA report on a story regarding the investigation into the sex crime accusation made by Lizzy Seeberg shortly before she committed suicide in September. Seeberg had reported to university police that she'd been sexually attacked by a football player.

Dear Faculty, Staff and Students, As you may have heard or seen, the Chicago Tribune has published another story today concerning the allegations made against a Notre Dame student by Saint Mary's College student Lizzy Seeberg prior to her death in September.

Let me state first that sexual violence is unacceptable and will not be tolerated at Notre Dame. We have a wide array of sexual assault education and prevention programs in place and will continue to actively promote these initiatives on our campus.

There is a law known as the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) that prohibits universities from publicly discussing specific disciplinary cases. However, I want to point out that any time the University investigates any potential student violation of the law or university policies, we do so professionally, carefully and thoroughly. We also recognize that when a family is grieving for a lost child, procedures that are thorough and careful may be perceived as insufficient. The Seebergs have been and continue to be in our prayers.

At all times, our procedures are judicious and intended to ensure the guilty receive proper punishment. At the same time, in cases where there is no evidence to support disciplinary action, our process guards the innocent from unsubstantiated accusations. We cannot and will not change our careful and thorough processes to conform to individual wishes or external pressures. As most of you know, Notre Dame has never backed away from these practices in the past – and never will. We take this obligation very seriously.

In addition, the St. Joseph County prosecutor said in a November 22, 2010, statement that Notre Dame's Security Police Department has "in the past taken care to conduct thorough investigations of criminal allegations, and have compiled complete reports of their findings, forwarded to this office."