Campus Alert Archive
Notre Dame

Sexual assault report, October 28, 2025

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Under Investigation

On the early afternoon of October 28, 2025, a female student reported she had been raped by an unknown male perpetrator in a restroom inside Jordan Hall of Science on the University of Notre Dame campus. The Notre Dame Police Department issued a crime alert via email around 4 p.m. EDT on Wednesday, October 29, the university's first formal Clery timely warning since 2023. The suspect was described only as male; no further description was available.

Alerts
1
Response
—
Killed
0
Injured
1
Institution
University of Notre Dame
Private R1 · IN
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~13,000 studentsNDAlert / NDPD Crime Alert
Official alert policy
Read when and how Notre Dame says it will use NDAlert: summarized, quoted, and analyzed.
Documented Timeline

Alert Sequence

1 message in sequence · 1 verified verbatim

Confirmed wording is transcribed character-for-character from a primary source. Use Verify this quote under each message to open that source in a new tab and compare the text yourself.

INITIAL ALERTEmail
Verified verbatim704 chars
Crime Alert: Sexual Assault The Notre Dame Police Department (NDPD) received a report concerning an incident of rape (as defined by Indiana law) that reportedly occurred within the Jordan Hall of Science. This incident is reported to have taken place during the early afternoon hours of Tuesday, October 28, 2025. The incident was initially reported to the Office of Institutional Equity. The female victim reported that she was raped in a restroom of the academic building. At this time, the suspect is described as male, but no further description is available. It was reported that the offender was unknown to the victim. NDPD is working with the Office of Institutional Equity regarding this matter.
Verify this quote
Notre Dame Police Department — Crime Alert: Sexual Assaultpolice.nd.edufind archived copies
First formal NDPD crime alert since 2023, when the community was made aware of drink spiking in a male residence hall
Sent approximately 24-27 hours after the early-afternoon October 28 incident, a delay consistent with reports passing through the Office of Institutional Equity before reaching NDPD
The suspect description ('an unknown male perpetrator') is unusually thin and limits the practical preventive value of the alert
Closing references to NDPD's standard resource menu (Sex-Based Misconduct Policy, OIE, ND Safe App Mobile Blue Light) follow a template Notre Dame uses across crime alerts
Message elements

How the first alert is built

To check this alert, Claude (an AI) read it in full 25 separate times, independently. Each read decided whether the message answers each of the six questions and gave a short reason. A final reviewer then weighed all 25 and wrote the plain-English verdict you see when you open a row. The score (for example 22/25) is how many reads agreed; the 25 individual reads are tucked underneath if you want to check them.

Crime Alert: Sexual Assault The Notre Dame Police Department (NDPD) received a report concerning an incident of rape (as defined by Indiana law) that reportedly occurred within the Jordan Hall of Science. This incident is reported to have taken place during the early afternoon hours of Tuesday, October 28, 2025. The incident was initially reported to the Office of Institutional Equity. The female victim reported that she was raped in a restroom of the academic building. At this time, the suspect is described as male, but no further description is available. It was reported that the offender was unknown to the victim. NDPD is working with the Office of Institutional Equity regarding this matter.

  • Sourcepresent25/25

    Final assessment

    All reads agree 'The Notre Dame Police Department (NDPD)' clearly identifies the issuing authority.

    Who is sending the alert and who is responding. People act faster on a message from a clearly identifiable, credible sender, such as a named department, the police, or a branded alert system, than on an anonymous notice. A branded signature counts.

    See all 25 individual reads
    1. present: Names 'Notre Dame Police Department (NDPD)' explicitly.
    2. present: 'Notre Dame Police Department (NDPD)' identifies issuing authority.
    3. present: Names 'Notre Dame Police Department (NDPD)'.
    4. present: Identifies 'Notre Dame Police Department (NDPD)' as issuing authority.
    5. present: Issued by 'The Notre Dame Police Department (NDPD)'.
    6. present: From Notre Dame Police Department (NDPD).
    7. present: States 'The Notre Dame Police Department (NDPD)' as receiving agency.
    8. present: Attributed to 'Notre Dame Police Department (NDPD)'.
    9. present: 'Notre Dame Police Department (NDPD)' identified.
    10. present: From 'Notre Dame Police Department (NDPD)', named explicitly
    11. present: 'Notre Dame Police Department (NDPD)' identifies the agency.
    12. present: Names 'Notre Dame Police Department (NDPD)' as issuer.
    13. present: Names 'Notre Dame Police Department (NDPD)'.
    14. present: References 'The Notre Dame Police Department (NDPD)' as issuer.
    15. present: From 'The Notre Dame Police Department (NDPD)' explicitly named.
    16. present: References 'Notre Dame Police Department (NDPD)' explicitly.
    17. present: Names the Notre Dame Police Department, NDPD.
    18. present: Names 'Notre Dame Police Department (NDPD)'.
    19. present: Names 'Notre Dame Police Department (NDPD)'.
    20. present: From 'The Notre Dame Police Department (NDPD)'.
    21. present: From 'Notre Dame Police Department (NDPD)'.
    22. present: Named Notre Dame Police Department (NDPD).
    23. present: Names 'The Notre Dame Police Department (NDPD)'.
    24. present: 'The Notre Dame Police Department (NDPD)' identifies sender.
    25. present: Names 'The Notre Dame Police Department (NDPD)'.
  • Hazardpresent25/25

    Final assessment

    Unanimous agreement that 'an incident of rape' names the hazard specifically.

    What the threat actually is. A complete warning names the specific danger, such as a shooter, a fire, a tornado, or a gas leak, rather than a vague emergency, because people decide what to do based on what they are facing.

    See all 25 individual reads
    1. present: Describes 'an incident of rape.'
    2. present: 'rape' named specifically.
    3. present: Describes 'an incident of rape'.
    4. present: Names 'rape' specifically.
    5. present: Names 'an incident of rape'.
    6. present: Names 'rape' incident.
    7. present: Names 'rape' specifically.
    8. present: Names 'rape (as defined by Indiana law)'.
    9. present: 'incident of rape' names the hazard.
    10. present: Names 'rape' specifically
    11. present: 'rape' names the specific hazard.
    12. present: Names 'rape'.
    13. present: Names 'an incident of rape'.
    14. present: Names 'an incident of rape (as defined by Indiana law)'.
    15. present: Names 'rape' specifically.
    16. present: Names 'rape' specifically.
    17. present: States a rape as the hazard.
    18. present: Describes 'rape' at Jordan Hall of Science.
    19. present: Describes 'an incident of rape'.
    20. present: Describes 'an incident of rape'.
    21. present: States 'rape (as defined by Indiana law)'.
    22. present: Names 'rape'.
    23. present: Describes 'an incident of rape'.
    24. present: 'rape' named specifically.
    25. present: Describes 'an incident of rape'.
  • Locationpresent25/25

    Final assessment

    All reads agree the Jordan Hall of Science, including the restroom detail, gives a specific location.

    Where the threat is. Saying whether danger is in a specific building, a part of campus, or area-wide lets people judge their own proximity and choose a safe direction. Without a where, a warning is hard to act on precisely.

    See all 25 individual reads
    1. present: Names 'Jordan Hall of Science.'
    2. present: 'within the Jordan Hall of Science' given.
    3. present: States 'within the Jordan Hall of Science'.
    4. present: Names 'restroom' within 'Jordan Hall of Science'.
    5. present: States 'within the Jordan Hall of Science'.
    6. present: Names Jordan Hall of Science, a restroom.
    7. present: States 'within the Jordan Hall of Science'.
    8. present: Names 'restroom' 'within the Jordan Hall of Science'.
    9. present: 'within the Jordan Hall of Science'.
    10. present: States 'within the Jordan Hall of Science'
    11. present: 'Jordan Hall of Science' is specific.
    12. present: Names 'Jordan Hall of Science'.
    13. present: Names 'Jordan Hall of Science'.
    14. present: Names 'the Jordan Hall of Science' and 'a restroom of the academic building'.
    15. present: Names 'Jordan Hall of Science'.
    16. present: Names 'Jordan Hall of Science' and 'a restroom of the academic building'.
    17. present: Names Jordan Hall of Science as the location.
    18. present: Names 'Jordan Hall of Science'.
    19. present: Names 'Jordan Hall of Science'.
    20. present: Names 'Jordan Hall of Science'.
    21. present: Names 'Jordan Hall of Science'.
    22. present: Names Jordan Hall of Science.
    23. present: Names 'Jordan Hall of Science' and specifically a restroom.
    24. present: 'Jordan Hall of Science' given.
    25. present: Names 'within the Jordan Hall of Science'.
  • Guidanceabsent0/25

    Final assessment

    Unanimous agreement that no protective action is instructed to recipients; the message only describes the incident and ongoing investigation.

    The protective action to take. A clear, specific instruction, such as shelter in place, evacuate, avoid the area, or run-hide-fight, drives faster and more correct protective behavior than describing the threat alone.

    See all 25 individual reads
    1. absent: No protective action instructed to recipients.
    2. absent: No protective action instructed to recipients.
    3. absent: No protective action instructed to recipients.
    4. absent: No protective action instructed to recipients.
    5. absent: No protective action is instructed, only describes ongoing investigation.
    6. absent: No protective action instructed to recipients.
    7. absent: No protective action instructed to recipients.
    8. absent: No protective action instructed to recipients.
    9. absent: No protective action instructed.
    10. absent: No protective action instructed to recipients
    11. absent: No protective action instructed to recipients.
    12. absent: No protective action instructed to recipients.
    13. absent: No protective action instructed to recipients.
    14. absent: No protective action instructed to recipients, only that NDPD is working with the Office of Institutional Equity.
    15. absent: No protective action instructed to recipients.
    16. absent: No protective action instructed to recipients.
    17. absent: Gives no instruction on what recipients should do.
    18. absent: No protective action instructed to recipients.
    19. absent: No protective action instructed to recipients.
    20. absent: No protective action instructed to recipients.
    21. absent: No protective action instructed to recipients.
    22. absent: No protective action instructed to recipients.
    23. absent: No protective action instructed to recipients.
    24. absent: No protective action instructed to recipients.
    25. absent: No protective action instructed to recipients.
  • Timepresent25/25

    Final assessment

    All reads agree 'early afternoon hours of Tuesday, October 28, 2025' gives a specific time reference.

    When the message applies. A timestamp, the word now or immediately, or a phrase like until further notice tells the reader whether the danger is current and how quickly to act.

    See all 25 individual reads
    1. present: States 'early afternoon hours of Tuesday, October 28, 2025.'
    2. present: 'early afternoon hours of Tuesday, October 28, 2025' given.
    3. present: States 'early afternoon hours of Tuesday, October 28, 2025'.
    4. present: States 'early afternoon hours of Tuesday, October 28, 2025'.
    5. present: States 'the early afternoon hours of Tuesday, October 28, 2025'.
    6. present: States 'early afternoon hours of Tuesday, October 28, 2025'.
    7. present: States 'early afternoon hours of Tuesday, October 28, 2025'.
    8. present: States 'early afternoon hours of Tuesday, October 28, 2025'.
    9. present: 'the early afternoon hours of Tuesday, October 28, 2025'.
    10. present: States 'early afternoon hours of Tuesday, October 28, 2025'
    11. present: 'early afternoon hours of Tuesday, October 28, 2025' is specific.
    12. present: States 'early afternoon hours of Tuesday, October 28, 2025'.
    13. present: States 'early afternoon hours of Tuesday, October 28, 2025'.
    14. present: States 'the early afternoon hours of Tuesday, October 28, 2025'.
    15. present: States 'early afternoon hours of Tuesday, October 28, 2025'.
    16. present: States 'early afternoon hours of Tuesday, October 28, 2025'.
    17. present: Gives the time, early afternoon hours of Tuesday, October 28, 2025.
    18. present: States 'early afternoon hours of Tuesday, October 28, 2025'.
    19. present: States 'early afternoon hours of Tuesday, October 28, 2025'.
    20. present: States 'early afternoon hours of Tuesday, October 28, 2025'.
    21. present: Gives 'early afternoon hours of Tuesday, October 28, 2025'.
    22. present: Gives 'early afternoon hours of Tuesday, October 28, 2025'.
    23. present: States 'the early afternoon hours of Tuesday, October 28, 2025'.
    24. present: 'early afternoon hours of Tuesday, October 28, 2025' given.
    25. present: States 'early afternoon hours of Tuesday, October 28, 2025'.
  • Impactabsent0/25

    Final assessment

    Unanimous agreement that no ongoing danger or consequence is stated beyond describing the past incident.

    What the hazard could do to the people in its path. Beyond naming the threat, a complete warning conveys its potential consequences or severity, such as that a tornado can level buildings or that a leak could be explosive, so recipients grasp how much danger they are in. Research on warning message content finds that a concrete impact statement helps people personalize their risk and act sooner.

    See all 25 individual reads
    1. absent: No stated consequence or severity described.
    2. absent: No stated further harm or severity beyond the crime description.
    3. absent: No stated ongoing danger or consequence conveyed.
    4. absent: No explicit statement of ongoing danger or severity.
    5. absent: No consequence or severity is stated.
    6. absent: No stated ongoing danger or consequence conveyed.
    7. absent: No stated potential harm to recipients beyond describing the incident.
    8. absent: No stated consequence beyond incident description.
    9. absent: No consequence stated.
    10. absent: No stated forward consequence or severity
    11. absent: No stated potential harm/severity beyond describing the offense.
    12. absent: No stated potential harm beyond describing the crime.
    13. absent: No stated forward-looking danger described.
    14. absent: No stated potential harm or severity beyond describing the incident.
    15. absent: No stated severity of harm beyond describing the rape itself.
    16. absent: No explicit statement of ongoing danger or severity.
    17. absent: No harm or severity beyond the crime itself is described.
    18. absent: No stated danger or consequence conveyed.
    19. absent: No stated danger or consequence conveyed beyond the offense description.
    20. absent: No stated potential harm described.
    21. absent: No stated potential harm or severity conveyed beyond describing the rape occurred.
    22. absent: No stated severity beyond describing the incident.
    23. absent: No stated ongoing danger or consequence beyond describing the past incident.
    24. absent: No stated potential harm or severity beyond describing the incident.
    25. absent: No stated potential harm.

Systematic AI judgments with visible reasoning, not human-validated codings.

About this analysis
Context

Background

The Jordan Hall of Science is the central undergraduate teaching building for Notre Dame's College of Science, with hundreds of students and faculty cycling through its corridors and restrooms during weekday afternoons. The October 28, 2025 reported rape (and the October 29 crime alert issued the next afternoon) broke a roughly two-year silence in Notre Dame's Clery-Act timely-warning record. The institution's last comparable alert had been in 2023, when NDPD warned of drink spiking in a male residence hall following three reported incidents that summer and fall. Notre Dame's institutional posture on sexual-assault disclosures has long been more restrained than many peer R1s; a follow-up Observer investigation a month later found NDPD had released no additional information, leaving the community without a suspect description, a known motive, or any indication of investigative progress. The alert's structure (a single-message advisory with no follow-up) is consistent with how the Clery Act framework treats completed sex offenses by unknown perpetrators: a timely warning is required if there is an 'ongoing or continuing threat,' but the law does not mandate updates or resolution communications. Critics of this approach point out that survivors and would-be future victims gain little practical safety information from a description as bare as 'an unknown male perpetrator' in an academic building open to thousands.
Analysis

Key Findings

First formal NDPD crime alert since 2023, breaking an approximately two-year silence in Notre Dame's timely-warning record
Suspect description ('an unknown male perpetrator') was so minimal that the alert's preventive utility was limited
A month-later Observer follow-up confirmed no investigative update had been released, illustrating the Clery Act's lack of mandatory follow-up communications
The alert's pathway through the Office of Institutional Equity before reaching NDPD likely contributed to the roughly 24-hour delay from incident to community notification
Outcome
Investigation initiated by the Notre Dame Police Department. No suspect identified as of the alert. Incident referred to the Office of Institutional Equity. No update was provided to the community in the weeks following the alert, prompting follow-up reporting by The Observer.
Provenance

Sources

Every claim on this page is meant to be checkable. Open the links below (and the Verify this quote control under each confirmed alert) to read the original university, news, or archive page yourself. Hostnames are shown so you can see where you are going; archived copies survive when live pages move or disappear. See also our methodology.

  1. Official
    Crime Alert: Sexual Assault - Notre Dame Police Department
    police.nd.edu
    archived copy
  2. Student Paper
    Female victim reports rape by unknown perpetrator in Jordan Hall of Science bathroom (The Observer)
    ndsmcobserver.com
    archived copy
  3. News
    Notre Dame investigating reported rape on campus (WNDU)
    wndu.com
    archived copy
  4. News
    Notre Dame Police investigate reported rape on campus (WSBT)
    wsbt.com
    archived copy
  5. Student Paper
    No update available following crime alert of reported rape in Jordan Hall (The Observer)
    ndsmcobserver.com
    archived copy
  6. Official
    Crime Alerts — Notre Dame Police Department
    police.nd.edu
    archived copy
Cite this case

Campus Alert Archive. "University of Notre Dame: Sexual assault report, October 28, 2025." Incident of October 28, 2025. Added May 2026; last updated July 2026. https://campusalertarchive.com/case/notre-dame-jordan-hall-rape-alert-2025-10-28/

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Alert text quoted on this page remains the work of the issuing institution; the archive is a secondary source.

Tags
sexual-assaultrapeclery-timely-warningfirst-since-2023private-r1catholicreligious-affiliatedUnder Investigation
Added May 2026Updated July 2026Via ingestion