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Posted on 01/06/2026 9:18:58 PM PST by lightman
STATE COLLEGE — The State College Police Department underreported hundreds of rapes in its public crime data over nearly a decade, a 10-month investigation by Spotlight PA found. The mistake, which led to highly inaccurate public crime statistics, was not disclosed to the public before the story’s Dec. 18 publication.
State College police, who serve over 57,000 residents in three municipalities in Centre County, reported a total of 67 rapes in crime submissions to the Pennsylvania State Police from 2013 to 2021. But the department conceded to Spotlight PA that it had been using an outdated definition of the crime, and that there had been 321 rapes during that period — a 254-case difference.
State College Police Chief John Gardner, who retired at the end of 2025, told Spotlight PA that the incorrect reporting was “not done intentionally.”
In response to a detailed list of findings shared with police officials and State College borough prior to the publication of the investigation, the police department expressed in a statement “a great level of dissatisfaction.”
“The information presented appears to be more representative of an op-ed article than an objective reporting piece,” the statement said in part. Read the full response here.
Here are three key takeaways from the investigation:
Officials say they learned of the FBI’s updated rape definition 9 years late Police departments across the commonwealth are required to report crime statistics to the Pennsylvania State Police. The agency then makes the data available to the public and shares it with the FBI. Law enforcement agencies must use the FBI definition of crimes when they tally and submit data.
In 2013, the FBI broadened its longstanding definition of rape to be more inclusive and more accurate — a move supported by national organizations for police and sheriffs, as well as anti-rape groups.
But former State College Police Chief Tom King, who oversaw the department from 1993 to 2016, told Spotlight PA word of this critical change never reached him.
“Whoever they addressed it to, I don’t recall ever seeing any direction from the State Police to make a change, or being aware that it was changed,” said King, who is now interim manager in neighboring Ferguson Township. “That doesn’t mean they didn’t. We’re talking about 12 years ago.”
Gardner told the newsroom he didn’t know about the definition change until a records supervisor completed a training in 2022 and encouraged the department to update what should be counted as rape in public crime data.
Hundreds of rapes were classified as lesser offenses in public safety data At Spotlight PA’s request, the department reviewed cases from 2013 to 2021 to calculate how many cases were affected by police using the outdated definition of rape.
From 2013 to 2021, State College police reported 254 incidents as sex offenses that should have been classified as rapes, according to their own assessment. Crimes categorized as sex offenses come with lower penalties and are treated with less urgency by law enforcement.
Rape is a “part one” crime, while sex offenses are “part two” crimes.
In police speak, part one crimes are the most severe offenses: homicide, rape, robbery, aggravated assault, human trafficking. They are high priorities for law enforcement, often bringing with them pressure to make arrests and clear cases. These are considered indicators of the level of crime occurring in the country, according to the FBI Uniform Crime Reporting Handbook.
Experts told Spotlight PA that the way rapes are labeled matters for victims and communities.
“It’s not just about how it shows up in statistics, it’s about how people think about what’s happened to them, how other people think about what’s happened to them, how the community thinks about what’s happened to them,” said Anne Ard, former executive director of Centre Safe, a State College-based organization that supports survivors of sexual violence.
Spotlight PA identified other potential issues with how State College police handled rape cases For years, rape cases were habitually described as “assaults” in internal police records, Spotlight PA found. The newsroom also questioned whether factors other than the new definition made previous rape numbers appear low.
Additionally, Spotlight PA identified a case in which two victims reported rapes and the police recorded only one. One police official told reporters that rapes are counted by incident, not by victim — going against well-established FBI rules and indicating a separate violation from underreporting.
However, when asked about it, Gardner told Spotlight PA: “You report victims to UCR, OK, we don’t do it by incident. Do you understand?”
Gardner insisted the department handled the case properly, and said he did not know the source of the discrepancy.
The newsroom cannot determine if undercounting rape victims by using the incident count was an isolated incident or a more prevalent problem. State law does not allow public access to police investigative files, and State College police refused Spotlight PA’s request to review them.
If you or someone you know is experiencing sexual violence, Centre Safe is available 24/7 at 877-234-5050.
“an outdated definition of the crime”
So they admit they were they using the Whoopi Goldberg definition?
Pennsylvania Ping!
Please ping me with articles of interest.
FReepmail me to be added to the list
Or the BJ Clintoon version:
“It depends on the meaning of ‘IS’”! /s
Some people think men need written consent and even then it can be later withdrawn. You have two drunk students with raging hormones and the next day, someone has regrets, is that rape?
Why is DC issuing definitions of crimes which states have already no doubt defined?
“raging hormones”
Where can I get me some of those?
Why does the FBI’s definition of rape apply to state law?
Each state can define rape differently. There is no national rape law.
An Outdated definition?
Rape has been defined as a capital crime dating back to at least the Code of Hammurabi around 1750 BC. That help the stupidity of this? And these people are tasked with educating your kids...for large amounts of money.
wy69
An Outdated definition?
Rape has been defined as a capital crime dating back to at least the Code of Hammurabi around 1750 BC. That help the stupidity of this? And these people are tasked with educating your kids...for large amounts of money.
wy69
Can’t have rape victims’ tears descending in “Happy Valley”!
/s
Regret isn’t rape
From Penn State to the State Pen.
Some people need to be arrested.
Center County is a Democrat blood spot in the middle of Republican Central Pennsylvania.
Must be more than coincidence that Penn State’s “Beaver” Stadium is located in Happy Valley.
“From Penn State to the State Pen.”
I cut a Penn State bumper sticker in half, reversed the word sequence, and put it on the back of a friend’s car.
I was a professor at Penn State for many years back in the JOPA days. It really is/was an excellent school. It has become woke beyond belief. The department of Agricultural Economics became the “The Department of Agricultural Economics, Sociology, and Education.”
When I taught there back in the 1990’s, of the 15 doctoral candidates in our department, not one was a US citizen. Had to laugh as “There is no language or communications requirement for the Ph.D. in Rural Sociology beyond the Graduate School’s requirement of competency in English.”
I don't think that I'd need anyone to tell me how to think about what had happened to me.
Regards,
It is very difficult to get women to press charges. They want the men charged without them being involved.
If the optics are bad, the school wants to make it go away.
From the FBI.gov:
Definition
In 2013, the FBI UCR Program began collecting rape data under a revised definition within the Summary Reporting System. Previously, offense data for forcible rape were collected under the legacy UCR definition: the carnal knowledge of a female forcibly and against her will. Beginning with the 2013 data year, the term “forcible” was removed from the offense title, and the definition was changed. The revised UCR definition of rape is: penetration, no matter how slight, of the vagina or anus with any body part or object, or oral penetration by a sex organ of another person, without the consent of the victim. Attempts or assaults to commit rape are also included in the statistics presented here; however, statutory rape and incest are excluded.
I would like to see the old and new definitions.
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