Police investigating report of battery at BYU-Idaho
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REXBURG — Police and Brigham Young University-Idaho officials are investigating a complaint of battery reported by a female student this weekend.
The student told police officers she and three friends were walking home from a talent show around 11 p.m. Saturday.
“They were between the David O. McKay Library and the Hyrum Manwaring Center on campus when she said 4-5 boys ran out and surrounded them,” Rexburg Police Capt. Randy Lewis says. “One of the boys slapped her on the buttocks. She turned around and started crying but was not sure who did it.”
The girls reported hearing the men speaking “inappropriately” about how “girls at BYU-I are not as easy as girls at ISU,” according to Lewis.
BYU-Idaho sent a campus security alert to all students and employees Monday afternoon notifying them of the situation.
“BYU-Idaho is committed to promoting and maintaining a safe and respectful environment for the campus community. Behavior such as this is against the law,” the statement read. “Students are encouraged to … report such behavior. In addition, students who wish to have a safety escort to their apartments after dark may contact Public Safety.”
Anyone with information on the incident is asked to call the Rexburg Police Department at (208) 359-3008.
EastIdahoNews.com originally reported this incident as a sexual battery. That report was incorrect. Detectives are investigating the case as a battery. We apologize for the error.