The Red and Black

Issue date: 9/7/07 Section: News

University student Cole Sidney Gray had to register in May - not for classes, but as a Georgia sex offender.

Gray pleaded guilty to having sexual intercourse with a 14-year-old girl in Oconee County, according to court documents.

Gray, 19 at the time of the incident, also pleaded guilty to possession of less than one ounce of marijuana, underage possession of alcohol and failure to maintain lane.

Yet, despite the preponderance of public records - the Oconee County Sheriff's incident report, court documents, Gray's listing as a sex offender on the Georgia Bureau of Investigation Web site - he has no pending cases or resolutions in the Office of Judicial Programs.

His guilty pleas to the rape, drug and alcohol charges are violations of the University Code of Conduct.

So, how does Gray continue to attend class without any sanctions?

University officials didn't say they knew of the incident, even though it happened just 15 miles from the Arch.

Beginning in January 2006, Athens-Clarke County police started sending a weekly list of all 17-to-24-year-olds arrested in the county to University Police.

University Police Chief Jimmy Williamson and his staff take the list and compare it with a list of enrolled students. If there is a match, they forward all information from ACC Police to Judicial Programs, Williamson said.

He added policy plays a role in crime deterrence among students and raises awareness of their "obligation" to the Athens community.

"Students now understand they can be held accountable for off-campus actions," he said.

But does accountability cease at the county lines? It does in regard to how crimes are chronicled.

Reports are forwarded to Judicial Programs only if a student is arrested by University or ACC police.

For instance, if a University student is driving back to campus on Ga. 316 and is arrested by Oconee County police for driving under the influence, the police have no obligation to forward those records to the University. Drive a few miles further into ACC and the records are sent to Judicial Programs.

Williamson acknowledges the possibility of student violations going unnoticed in the greater Athens area.

"I'm not going to say people won't slip through the cracks," he said. "But nothing stops a sheriff from making us aware of a situation."

Williamson said it's impossible to check every county in the state but added he's not opposed to exploring an extension to surrounding counties if law enforcement officers express interest.

Oconee County Sheriff Scott Berry said student crime constitutes a small portion of arrests in the county, with most coming from DUIs and bad checks.

In the past, he forwarded incident reports to University Police when requested to do so, he said. He elaborated, saying those were rare circumstances, usually during highly publicized cases.

"It wouldn't be hard at all," he said of adopting the policy in Oconee.

Oglethorpe County Sheriff Mike Smith also was open to the idea.

"It probably would be a good idea to do it the same way they do it in Athens," he said.

'Overstepping for the sake of good PR'

Gray isn't the only student who avoided University judicial scrutiny due to geographical circumstances.

Since the new policy was instituted in 2006, at least 14 students arrested in Oconee and charged with actions mentioned in the Code of Conduct were found by The Red & Black. These arrests include DUIs, underage possession of alcohol, shoplifting and marijuana possession.

A new alcohol policy enacted in May 2006 states all students found in violation of the University's judicial process of alcohol and drug-related misconduct would be given probation for the first offense, while a second offense during probation would warrant suspension.

Included among these Oconee arrests is a student with two prior alcohol and drug violations, meaning his next alcohol-related arrest could be grounds for suspension.

But he wasn't arrested in ACC.

Andrew O'Shea, a junior from Atlanta, wasn't as fortunate.

He was arrested for underage possession of alcohol while on probation with the University and is serving a suspension through the end of the semester. O'Shea voiced his displeasure with the geographical specificity of the policy.

"You would like to think they are going by a case to case basis," he said. "But obviously, that's not what they are doing."

O'Shea said the administration should not punish students for crimes that occur off campus, and he said the policy seems to only target drinking offenses.

"It hasn't done anything effective for my life," he said of his punishment. "It seems like they are overstepping for the sake of good PR."

Alan Campbell, associate dean of student affairs whose office oversees Judicial Programs, said the policy of forwarding reports was adopted out of the "need for uniform reporting practices."

But when asked on Tuesday if it was inconsistent to punish students for offenses going unreported from neighboring counties, he did not provide a specific answer. Instead, he told The Red & Black to e-mail him a list of questions.

He did not reply to any of the questions in the e-mail directly, but wrote on Wednesday, "As members of the UGA community, we all have a vested interest in promoting responsible behavior of members of our community. We hope that students will be good citizens on and off campus."

What's next for Gray?

Gray is the third University student The Red & Black has uncovered to be a sex offender during the last two academic years.

Both Joshua Clay Oliver, who pleaded guilty to aggravated assault with attempt to rape, and Bryan Scott Palmer, who pleaded guilty to statutory rape, were suspended by Judicial Programs for one year after the spring semester of 2006. However, they were suspended for furnishing false information on their admission application, not for the actual sex crimes.

Oliver since has been removed from the sex offender list, and the Office of the Registrar has no record of either he or Palmer attending the University this semester.

According to a May 2005 Oconee County Sheriff's report, Gray was pulled over by police in his black Mercedes on Colham Ferry Road, where an officer found a 14-year-old girl in the passenger seat, an open container of alcohol, a small bag of a leafy substance, a smoke pipe and a condom.

The girl later told authorities she had consensual sex with Gray in a church parking lot near Astondale and Colham Ferry Roads. An officer reporting on the scene found "a condom lying on the grass," the report said.

Under his plea agreement, Gray accepted eight years of probation for the statutory rape charge and one year for possession of marijuana.

Gray was contacted multiple times by The Red & Black, but he said he was unable to get in contact with his lawyer and did not want to speak on the record until he could do so.

Kim Ellis, associate dean for student affairs, said a complaint would need to be issued against a sex offender before Judicial Programs would investigate if the matter pertained to the University Code of Conduct.

Speaking hypothetically, she said a police report would suffice as a complaint. She was not made aware of Gray's situation by The Red & Black.

After learning of Oliver's and Palmer's sex crimes, University Vice President for Public Affairs Tom Jackson told The Red & Black in April 2006 that officials could consider cross-referencing enrolled students with the state sex offender list.

He added there are many factors to look at including who to check, what would be required from those accepted and if the results of checking would be cost effective.

A year and a half later, no clear plan has been established.

"You'd have to ask Jimmy (Williamson)," Jackson said Thursday.

"I can't remember what we do."

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