U.S. Department of Education 'looking into' six-month lapse in reporting child porn at University of Michigan
The U.S. Department of Education is gathering information on whether University of Michigan violated a federal crime reporting law when it waited six months to disclose the discovery of child pornography in an employee area of University Hospital.
"We are looking into this," said Justin Hamilton, DOE press secretary.
Comprehensive AnnArbor.com coverage
- Hospital accreditation agency investigating complaint about U-M Health System's 6-month delay in reporting child porn
- University of Michigan faculty to discuss lapse in reporting child porn
- Timeline in University of Michigan child porn case
- University of Michigan regent calls six-month lapse in reporting child porn 'extraordinarily disappointing'
- Police: Stephen Jenson had child porn in U-M hospital work bag on Dec. 2
- Counsel who reviewed initial report of resident possessing child porn no longer employed by U-M
- Internal review into U-M Hospital's handling of child porn case to be done in weeks
- U-M Health System CEO calls delay in reporting child porn 'painful moment in our history'
- University of Michigan officials didn't report child porn to police for 6 months
- University of Michigan officials weren't required by law to report child porn to state
In May a medical resident discovered a thumb drive containing child pornography and documents with fellow doctor Stephen Jenson's name on them. The resident reported her discovery to her supervisor and hospital security, but the university's legal office decided to drop the case instead of reporting it to police.
Six months later, on Nov. 18, a university employee resurrected the case and brought it to the Department of Public Safety, which launched an investigation on Nov. 21. The next month, on Dec. 16, 36-year-old Jenson _ a fourth-year medical resident specializing in pediatrics and internal medicine - was arrested. He was charged the next day with four counts of possessing child pornography.
University employees, top administrators and local advocates have since criticized the six-month reporting lapse, saying it needlessly put the university, the hospital and pediatric patients at risk.
"We will be working with local officials to determine all the facts in this case," Hamilton said, explaining that DOE investigators plan to speak with all "relevant and appropriate local officials."
As of Thursday evening, U-M had not yet been contacted by DOE officials, according to university spokesperson Rick Fitzgerald.
Stephen Jenson
In 2011 DOE closed 16 Clery Act investigations, including one at U-M that was finalized on Oct. 3.
In that investigation U-M was found in violation of the Clery Act for inaccurately reporting 2008 crime statistics. A DOE report found that the university underreported illegal weapons arrests and drug law violations. In 2008, the school reported 57 disciplinary actions for drug law violations, but the DOE investigation found the actual number was 98. The school also reported two illegal weapon arrests when seven arrests occurred that year.
Police also incorrectly reported liquor law violations, according to the DOE report.
Investigators attributed much of the incorrect reporting to faulty communication between University Housing and the school's Office of Student Conflict Resolution and a mid-year change in reporting policies at the university.
Kellie Woodhouse covers higher education for AnnArbor.com. Reach her at kelliewoodhouse@annarbor.com or 734-623-4602 and follow her on twitter.
Comments
BhavanaJagat
Sun, Feb 5, 2012 : 4:55 p.m.
Medical Confidentiality and Ethics : This story about medical resident Dr. Stephen Jenson poses problems that concern the training of medical students and residents who are aspiring to become medical professionals. A basic attitude that I would expect a medical professional to possess is that keeping private information confidential. A patient-doctor relationship is based upon trust and keeping private information confidential and any information that is recorded is viewed or shared for the sole purpose of serving the needs of the patient. To develop this attitude and the habit called medical confidentiality, the doctor avoids gaining access to any information without the consent of an entity who has ownership of that private information. In this context, the behavior and attitude that was displayed by that female medical resident raises a serious concern. It is inappropriate, and it is unprofessional conduct to open a thumb drive and view its file contents. I would again ask the University Medical School and the University Hospital System to pay attention to training and preparation of individuals for medical profession. The morals and ethical standards of the practice of Medicine have come under scrutiny now. A Police Officer would obtain a search warrant in the conduct of an investigation if the investigation demands the viewing of the file contents of a thumb drive. The female resident is not expected to violate the rules of discovery of evidence.
Basic Bob
Sun, Feb 5, 2012 : 6:30 p.m.
I found a thumb drive on my desk at work, not plugged in. Since it appeared to be one I own, I plugged it into my laptop to determine the contents. One of the files was a "Girls Gone Wild" movie, obvious from the file name. I left it on my desk for several months, then formatted it and claimed it as my own. I wouldn't want to be caught with this legal pornography.
BhavanaJagat
Sun, Feb 5, 2012 : 6:20 p.m.
Kindly read the story again. The female resident left the thumb drive where it was found. She did not retrieve the device. She made no attempt to contact Dr. Jenson to admit the fact of opening the file contents of the thumb drive. This device was left behind in a lounge which is very secure and public has no access to the computer and its location. There is no risk that the thumb drive would be stolen if the owner's identity is not verified immediately. Her actions describe the act of stealing private information and hence it is unethical and unprofessional. Most of use computers and other devices at work and home. Even members of the same family are expected to protect the privacy of individual members. Most recently, a man got into trouble for viewing his wife's e-mail using the password she has left behind at the home computer.
a2citizen
Sun, Feb 5, 2012 : 6:15 p.m.
Bhavana, Did the thumb drive have patient records on it? If it did that could potentially violate the patient confidentiality you are concerned with. The female resident had every legal right to take a cursory view of the files in order to determine ownership of the drive. Part of the training you are encouraging the Medical School to undertake might be to not leave thumb drives and other such devices unattended.
sHa
Sun, Feb 5, 2012 : 5:14 p.m.
@BhavanaJagat - The average person practices "common sense"; for example, when one finds an item that appears might have been lost/forgotten by another. This usually means that the finder of such an object would try to identify the owner of the item and return it to him. This is just basic common courtesy that decent people extend to others. The only way for the female resident to return the thumb drive to its rightful owner would be to try to first identify the owner. If the female resident hadn't have found child porn on the thumb drive, she probably would have just returned the thumb drive to Dr. Jenson, since she saw his name on another document on the drive. No need/requirement to report anything to anyone else. Dr. Jenson probably would have appreciated the fact that the thumb drive was returned to him and thanked her for returning it. End of story.
walker101
Sun, Feb 5, 2012 : 6:13 a.m.
And we thought Penn State had issues?
nancy
Sat, Feb 4, 2012 : 10:53 p.m.
Aside from the awful nature of this offense, makes my wonder why a young doctor nearing the end of his lengthy training would throw his life and livelihood away by doing something like this. You would think that he would at least do it at home, away from the possibility of being caught. It is of course fortuitious that this was discovered and that this man won't be allowed near children. I hope he gets the help he needs.
Jim Osborn
Sun, Feb 5, 2012 : 1:19 p.m.
I'm amazed by this, too. Then, once the drive was discovered, all he had to do was remove all porn from home.
Sparty
Sat, Feb 4, 2012 : 10:12 p.m.
Coverup, conspiracy, culture of secrecy .....oooooh. Drama. Can you say paranoia? How about a case of an individual student doctor breaking the law, a viewer of child pornography on home and work computers as disgusting as that is, who works daily with children/minors as scary as that might be. However, there are no claims that the doctor ever had sex or inappropriate contact with a minor. No criminal history at all. And yet ..... Horrible mistakes have been made. The doctor is no longer employed by UM. The attorney who made the initial determination that there wasn't enough evidence to proceed is no longer employed with UM. Multiple audits are underway. Let's see what happens. Now that the Joint Commision is involved, another group can also add their perspective. Perhaps the armchair detective brigade can relax until these professional groups complete their reports, without inciting more hysteria since they don't have all of the facts at hand ?
Arborcomment
Sun, Feb 5, 2012 : 9:35 p.m.
Happliy accepted your invitation Sparty to look at any or your prior posts. 1. Article on dismissal of Grad Researcher/Union Organizer - 1/19/12. Your quote: "As the provost reported to the Regents, the student was terminated due to academic and performance issues and nothing to do with union issues". 2. Defended high six figure salaries for UM administrators - 1/10/12 & 12/21/11. 3. dimissive of efforts to even look at proposals to provide a more cost efficient University system and assist in keeping tuition increases in check - 1/5/12. So, @sHa - you may be on to something. And Sparty, since you have placed me in your "detectives armchair", feel free to review my comments, be sure to get back to us on any passages of "hysteria or paranoia". Quite satisified now that one independent body will investigate and will await their results. Your UM PR department gave all those a pause for concern when it was announced UM's internal investigation would be done in a "couple of weeks" by a" board of auditors" no less. I will await the outside report, and will read the results with a more informed judgment on the background than you - seeing in as how I actually WORKED in UM Hospital Security for three years.
sHa
Sun, Feb 5, 2012 : 8:54 p.m.
And I am still wondering, Sparty, why you seem to be so annoyed about all the "drama" on this forum. Why do you even care so much about the fact that the investigation might be "broadened", as you state, to include other incidents?
sHa
Sun, Feb 5, 2012 : 8:32 p.m.
In all fairness, Sparty, it is actually your own comments on this forum which could lead one to believe that you don't seem to get why the public is outraged. Calling those of us who are upset about the UM's cover-up names, such as "arm-chair detectives", is being disrespectful of the feeling of others, don't you think? Maybe we are all just hoping that those at the University are actually listening.
Sparty
Sun, Feb 5, 2012 : 7:06 p.m.
Well, some of your comments, along with ArborComments, and bunny abbots, and others leave one to wonder if the multiple investigations by professionals are sufficient or if inciting more drama and somehow broadening it beyond one specific case isn't a goal of politicizing it into the next campaign of the month isn't the true goal.
sHa
Sun, Feb 5, 2012 : 4:34 p.m.
@Sparty - I think that most of the commenters here, myself included, back the Constitution; however, it seems that the UM covered-up and tried to hide what happened in this incident. Yes, the public is outraged, and rightfully so. The members of the public are venting their frustration with the UM with their comments on this forum. What part of that don't you understand? Now that the proper authorities have finally been notified, after a six-month lapse, of course it is up to them to do their job and get to the bottom of it. I don't think anyone has a problem with that. We actually welcome it!
Sparty
Sun, Feb 5, 2012 : 2:51 p.m.
No, staunch defender of that thing called the Constitution ..... you know, right to trial, right to defense, right to collection of facts, right to avoid the salem witch hunt by armchair detectives, etc. Right to due process and all those good legal things that this country was founded on. The USA difference, if you will.
Arborcomment
Sun, Feb 5, 2012 : 3:20 a.m.
Staunch defender of the "Michigan Difference"?
Sparty
Sun, Feb 5, 2012 : 3:20 a.m.
No, I just don't support people without all the facts running around creating hysteria while multiple internal and external groups of professionals audit the process and determine what happened and what the consequences should be. Im hardly a UM PR spin team member, what a joke. Have you seen any of my prior posts? And hippity hop, did I say I was ok with viewing child porn? Clearly my post said its disgusting and the professionals investigating it will determine consequences. Fortunately it's not up to you or the other armchair detectives here.
sHa
Sat, Feb 4, 2012 : 10:54 p.m.
Sparty, might you be a member of UM's PR spin team? Just wondering...
roll tide
Sat, Feb 4, 2012 : 10:50 p.m.
Sparty, I disagree and give you two thumbs down!
bunnyabbot
Sat, Feb 4, 2012 : 10:46 p.m.
so are you saying viewing kiddie porn is ok? or is victimless crime?
bunnyabbot
Sat, Feb 4, 2012 : 10:04 p.m.
fine the school, big time
Sparty
Sun, Feb 5, 2012 : 3:13 a.m.
Oh, you support increased tuition due to fines paid by UM? Or do you like to see our tax dollars spent on fines? That's real helpful.
bruceae
Sat, Feb 4, 2012 : 9:35 p.m.
@Bhavana: Right, we shouldn't expect U of M to clean up the mess we should suppress the evidence. Good work, you have a future as a lawyer at U of M
Sparty
Sat, Feb 4, 2012 : 10:12 p.m.
Then why did you?
sHa
Sat, Feb 4, 2012 : 10:03 p.m.
Sorry, I didn't mean to make fun of this situation. It's just that BhavanaJagat's comments are now bordering on the ridiculous. Not even worth replying to.
sHa
Sat, Feb 4, 2012 : 10 p.m.
LOL
BhavanaJagat
Sat, Feb 4, 2012 : 8:16 p.m.
THE DISCOVERY PROCESS : I have been reading several stories about this incident and it appears that the Hospital General Counsel has taken a right decision in this case when a female resident discovered some child porn images on a thumb drive that was left behind by another resident(Stephen Jenson) in the Emergency Pediatric Resident Lounge. This female resident is aware of the fact that she is not the owner of the thumb drive that was left behind on a computer. She had no specific authorization from the owner of the thumb drive to open its file contents. She has acted in an immoral, and unethical manner and has searched the thumb drive with an illegal purpose and intention. She has no legal powers or legal authority to conduct a search and to report or share her findings with others. The evidence gathered by her cannot be admitted in criminal proceedings in a Court of Law. I would expect the Judge to disallow her evidence. To this extent, the six months lapse is fully understandable and is valid. Hospital's legal Counsel has used proper discretion in this matter and has acted with maturity and reason and has closed the case. I have no problem in supporting that decision. The discovery made by a security person is not fully described in these news stories. I have to understand the discovery process and the manner in which evidence has been procured to frame charges against Stephen Jenson. I would expect this case to be thrown out and the charges would be dismissed as the evidence is obtained by unconstitutional search and seizure of property.
average joe
Sun, Feb 5, 2012 : 2:27 a.m.
In defense of the female resident- To find out who the thumb drive's owner was, one would have to open it. If a wallet was found, one would have to open it to find out who owned it. Also- let's just play out your story about the charges being thrown out because of evidence obtained by 'illegal serch & seizure. If this does in fact happen as you suggest, are you also suggesting that the U/M be required to reinstate this dude at the hospital, since he was never brought to trial?? Yeah, like that will happen.
a2citizen
Sat, Feb 4, 2012 : 11:41 p.m.
"...She had no specific authorization from the owner of the thumb drive to open its file contents. She has acted in an immoral, and unethical manner and has searched the thumb drive with an illegal purpose and intention..." The resident had to look at the contents of the thumb drive. The computer was owned by the university and available for use by any doctor authorized to log into it. In order to determine the owner it would be necessary to take a precursory view of the files on the drive. Besides, how is the resident to know the jump drive was not part of the computer station itself unless she viewed the files? Every installation manual in the world will state you should not just pull the thumb drive out without causing possible damage to the thumb drive or the USB port on the computer itself. Additionally, with the possibility of a virus being present on an unclaimed jump drive it would be very wise to try to determine ownership. In a healthcare setting would you want a virus spreading through the network, infecting medical systems and computer controlled devices? Let's have these Philosphy 101 discussions in Philosophy 101. Within the context of a discussion on child porn and child rape, Philosophy 101 discussions are not impressive and do not convey a higher level of intellect.
bunnyabbot
Sat, Feb 4, 2012 : 10:21 p.m.
it's a mute point to talk about her opening up the files to see whos drive it was. Once she did she was morally obligated to report it. Once whoever knew they were morally obligated to. You know moral obligation. Which sometimes doesn't mesh with legal mumbo jumbo.
bruceae
Sat, Feb 4, 2012 : 6:56 p.m.
So now every time I drive by that shiny new children's hospital I wonder what else they are hiding and covering up in there? It seems like ever since Mary Sue got here it's just one scandle after the next. When are the board of regents going to stop being rubber stamps for this administration and start cleaning house?
Frustrated in A2
Sat, Feb 4, 2012 : 5:45 p.m.
Clearly the folks in Ann Arbor didn't learn from EMU's mistake a few years back with that homicide that took place on their campus.
pu2um
Sat, Feb 4, 2012 : 3:14 p.m.
Notice that the DPS had to revise the 2009 stats twice: in October 2010, and September 2011. <a href="http://police.umich.edu/?s=stats" rel='nofollow'>http://police.umich.edu/?s=stats</a>
Mick52
Sat, Feb 4, 2012 : 8:30 p.m.
Take a look at this link: <a href="http://www.securityoncampus.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=297%3Aclerysummary&catid=64%3Acleryact&Itemid=81" rel='nofollow'>http://www.securityoncampus.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=297%3Aclerysummary&catid=64%3Acleryact&Itemid=81</a> Under the heading Crime Statistics you will see that many units beside the police are required to report statistics so it would not be odd to find the totals need adjusting.
pu2um
Sat, Feb 4, 2012 : 3:07 p.m.
Perhaps the Clery Act investigation was the reason for OSCR director Jennifer Schrage's sudden departure, without a word to the university community. Possession of child porn is not included in the Clery Act statistics, yet the DOE is investigating the matter. While they're at it, they should 'look into' the UM's lack of reporting complaints of discrimination /bias incidents/hate crimes, which is included in the Clery Act definitions but not a reported category. Such complaints are routed through the Dean of Students and DPS, not OSCR. Where are the statistics? Was there an investigation of the 2009 racial incident reported by Miles Jackson? Was it tallied somewhere? Where? I voiced concern to Sharon Vaughters that lack of transparency creates lack of confidence for victims to register complaints of bias incidents. She explained that UM doesn't publish such statistics because they don't want to "overly alarm" the community, and further stated that the "policy not to report" was consistent with other institutions. That's not only paternalistic, it's self-serving. The university community deserves better.
trespass
Sun, Feb 5, 2012 : 12:02 a.m.
@Sparty- The Clery act is not about the results in court but rather it is about police reports. The number of sexual assaults is for the reports made to police not how many are convicted for example.
Sparty
Sat, Feb 4, 2012 : 9:49 p.m.
Perhaps because he hasn't been convicted of a crime as of yet ?
trespass
Sat, Feb 4, 2012 : 8:34 p.m.
@Mick52- The Clery act says "sex crimes" are reportable. Since the possession of child pornography will land someone on the sex offenders list, how is it not a sex crime?
Mick52
Sat, Feb 4, 2012 : 8:28 p.m.
Your point on report requirements is a very good one. The Clery Act lists what crimes are required to be reported and it is not clear that possession of child pornography is one of those. It does include Sex offenses but that technically may not apply.
Carole
Sat, Feb 4, 2012 : 1:54 p.m.
And, this is an institution that is teaching our young people to go out into the world and make their way. How? Certainly not with honest, trust and goodwill. The University needs to realize that they are not the higher supreme being, and should be held accountable for all actions that are not legal and honest.
15crown00
Sat, Feb 4, 2012 : 5:01 a.m.
imagine that the pious ,pompus UM and it's Medical School being looked at by the Feds for possible rule violations. guess being ranked the 14th best hospital system in the United States doesn't mean all that much does it? COVERUP ,COVERUP that's what it was.just admit it boys,fix it and move on.
treetowncartel
Sat, Feb 4, 2012 : 2:47 a.m.
Somebody should calculate the tax payer expense as a rsult of the failure to report> This is going to end up costing joe the plumber more than a million buck I guarantee. But at least its creating jobs.
The Black Stallion3
Sat, Feb 4, 2012 : 3:45 p.m.
Are you and Joe friends? How do you know he owes back taxes and will not pay?
Freight Train
Sat, Feb 4, 2012 : 10:59 a.m.
Joe the plumber owes thousands of dollars in back taxes. Don't worry, he won't pay anyway.
xmo
Fri, Feb 3, 2012 : 10:54 p.m.
Maybe the staff was on strike for higher wages and more benefits?
Sparty
Sat, Feb 4, 2012 : 9:48 p.m.
LoL
Stupid Hick
Sat, Feb 4, 2012 : 2:30 a.m.
A brilliant post by the most insightful commenter on annarbor.com. Somehow this fiasco has to be connected to collective bargaining.
Jon Toepper
Fri, Feb 3, 2012 : 10:38 p.m.
Whomever that medical resident reported the thumb drive to should be terminated on the spot. Anyone else who held up this information should also be sent packing. Kind of creepy to think that there's a child porn pervert in close proximity to the pediatric unit. A sad story for the university!
Joe_Citizen
Sat, Feb 4, 2012 : 4:26 a.m.
This is the second one in like eight months
Kai Petainen
Fri, Feb 3, 2012 : 10:18 p.m.
since the dnr and epa close their eyes and ignore the hospital area....perhaps the doe will as well
Kai Petainen
Sun, Feb 5, 2012 : 4:56 a.m.
the letter from the DNR said this: "It is not uncommon for illicit dumpers to pull into a dark corner of a parking lot and dump in a convenient storm drain. I think that is what they were suggesting as a potential source. However, it could easily have been from a source at U of M and no one is owning up to it. Our resources for conducting a criminal investigation for an event like this are limited and are very unlikely to yield any solid results. From our perspective, it is unfortunate, but incidents this like this happen and it is unlikely we'll ever figure it out. We try hard to investigate and respond to complaints and, in this case, get U of M to perform appropriately, but circumstances are such that it does not always work out. Realistically, the best we can hope for is to push U of M to do better next time (and they are generally very responsive and take their obligations seriously). They are no obligations for U of M to make public notice for an incident like this. Obviously, there are spills where it is necessary to contact the County Health Dept and other agencies to evaluate risks and determine what notice/posting/warnings may be necessary. The pipeline spill on the West side of the state (which we have staff engaged on currently) is on the far side of the spectrum and there have obviously been many warnings about contact with the river and prohibitions against using the water for irrigation etc., but, as I said, that is the extreme example. It is not easy to convey or to accept sometimes, but we have to prioritize our efforts and beyond interfacing with U of M on getting reports submitted and improving practices there is not much more we can effectively do in this case. -Jon Jon E. Russell, Supervisor Water Resources Division MI Department of Natural Resources & Environment Jackson District Office"
Kai Petainen
Sun, Feb 5, 2012 : 4:56 a.m.
of course i have facts to support that. details here: <a href="http://a2docs.org/assets/files/2011/04/05/AAFD_incident_report_on_spill.pdf" rel='nofollow'>http://a2docs.org/assets/files/2011/04/05/AAFD_incident_report_on_spill.pdf</a> the DNR and the EPA never bothered to investigate. And the letter from the DNR <a href="http://a2docs.org/assets/files/2011/04/05/No_Obligations_for_UoM_--_Letter_from_DNR_to_Petainen.txt" rel='nofollow'>http://a2docs.org/assets/files/2011/04/05/No_Obligations_for_UoM_--_Letter_from_DNR_to_Petainen.txt</a>
Sparty
Sat, Feb 4, 2012 : 10:15 p.m.
Where specifically have the DNR and EPA ignored the hospital? Any facts?
trespass
Fri, Feb 3, 2012 : 8:46 p.m.
The investigation was opened on November 18, which was one day after I spoke at the Regents meeting, where "Douglas Smith directed his remarks to UM president Mary Sue Coleman, saying that she didn't need to travel to Penn State to find a university administration that failed to protect alleged victims of sexual assaults" <a href="http://annarborchronicle.com/2011/11/23/um-regents-criticize-formula-funding/" rel='nofollow'>http://annarborchronicle.com/2011/11/23/um-regents-criticize-formula-funding/</a> Did these comments have anything to do with re-opening the case?
Roadman
Sun, Feb 5, 2012 : 12:30 a.m.
Douglas Smith is a former U-M medical school professor in pathology who is active in the Willow Run Tea Party Caucus. He was the individual who earlier this year dropped the bombshell during public commentary period at a Board of Regents meeting that former Public Safety Director Magee had been suspected of sexually harassing behavior. The Michigan Daily at the time was the only media source who then accurately reported the allegations as prurient in nature and attempted a follow-up interview with Mary Sue Coleman about the issue, who declined to make any statement about Smith's statements regarding the Magee matter. Mr. Smith attempted a FOIA request with the Pittsfield Township P.D. to substantiate an investigation invoving Magee.
trespass
Sat, Feb 4, 2012 : 9:32 p.m.
@roll tide- Since the players were not charged, AA.com will not write about either case. I cannot write more here because the moderators will remove my comment if I do but you can read on AA Chronicle the reasons that the case against the football player was not pursued.
roll tide
Sat, Feb 4, 2012 : 8:05 p.m.
Why wasn't a A2 news story written if these allegations are true? Would that be Jordan Dumars whose father is the President of Basketball Operations for the NBA Detroit Pistions? How convenient is it that Jordan Dumars has basketball injuries that will not allow him to play any more!
Kai Petainen
Fri, Feb 3, 2012 : 10:19 p.m.
Courage.
justcurious
Fri, Feb 3, 2012 : 9:44 p.m.
"At the end of the meeting, Douglas Smith spoke during public commentary, criticizing the university for not protecting alleged victims of sexual assault by UM athletes Brendan Gibbons and Jordan Dumars. Penn State was only an anomaly because the victims were children, he said. But it's not an anomaly for university administrators to protect their athletic programs rather than the victims, he added – that's the norm."
Cash
Fri, Feb 3, 2012 : 9:25 p.m.
Thank you, sir.
Sciomanone1
Fri, Feb 3, 2012 : 8:46 p.m.
The IT computer information Department can check and does check any and all computers and who does what. They can even look while a worker is at a computer and know who is signed on and if the worker is doing something wrong or looking at something wrong, they can turn off their sign on the u of M computers in a second. A print out can be printed each day to see who has signed on at a computer every day and they know the day and time of each sign on So, the Administration does know and they can check back for many months about each computer at the day and the time of day. if nothing was done for 6 months or even 10 months, it was because of the Hospital security and the IT computer department Administrators, they are in the full control.
justcurious
Fri, Feb 3, 2012 : 11:20 p.m.
The U of M's explanation in the original article was this: "MCIT (Medical Center Information Technology) reviewed the computer internal logs where the thumb drive had been seen and was able to determine who had accessed the computer. However, MCIT does not have the technology or training to do forensic investigation of electronic devices and, therefore, was not able to retrieve other relevant information such as thumb drive access."
The Black Stallion3
Fri, Feb 3, 2012 : 8:26 p.m.
All this makes Joe Paterno and Penn state look like saints............there is a lot being covered up at the U of M and someone should be fired for it, someone very high up the ladder.
bunnyabbot
Sat, Feb 4, 2012 : 10:09 p.m.
no one is a saint that knows a man is looking at kiddie porn or having sex with a boy in the shower. In both cases fine tell your bosses but also call the police yourself asap. People involved told thier supierors because of some sort of "procedure" of reporting. This wasn't someone stealing from the supply closet. Do people really fear for their jobs that much that they lack the spine to stop abuse for themselves? The woman who found the pictures should be ashamed she didn't press the issue or call the cops herself.
Mick52
Sat, Feb 4, 2012 : 8:16 p.m.
So a ten year delay compared to a six month delay leads to sainthood.
bedrog
Sat, Feb 4, 2012 : 6:34 p.m.
oh get a grip. while this case is problematic and warrants the investigations it's getting, noone was actually physically harmed as was the case at Penn State.
aaparent
Fri, Feb 3, 2012 : 8:25 p.m.
@Kellie - I don't think you mean to use the word "Masochistic" in this sentence about the child pornography. The child was being abused, so it's not masochistic "In May a medical resident discovered a thumb drive containing masochistic child pornography and documents with fellow doctor Stephen Jenson's name on them."
Kellie Woodhouse
Fri, Feb 3, 2012 : 9:09 p.m.
Yes, you guys are right and I've since omitted the word. Thank you for catching that and thank you for reading.
Mark
Fri, Feb 3, 2012 : 8:29 p.m.
Yes, it should be sadistic. Masochists do it to themselves.
a2citizen
Fri, Feb 3, 2012 : 8:19 p.m.
I've said it before and I'll say it again: Had that thumb drive been found on the athletic campus people would have already lost their jobs. I'm not ashamed to say that I am experiencing a touch of schadenfreude at those smug and self-righteous administrators sitting in the ivory towers. Since Mary Sue arrived there certainly seems to have been a change in culture. First, the RR debacle over at the Athletic Campus. Now this repulsive activity at the Medical Center. There definitely needs to be changes made. Especially with these bureaucrats making several hundred thousand dollars in yearly salaries. Mary Sue: Ever wonder how Custer felt?
ypsicat
Sun, Feb 5, 2012 : 3:54 a.m.
"Schadenfreude" is one of my favorite terms and I'm not afraid to use it! In addition, "hoisted by their own petard" is one gem of a phrase, and is deliciously fitting here. In my observation the hospital has been way too diligent about arresting people with petty crimes (marijuana in the pockets of accident victims) or worse, arresting people who are mentally ill with crimes, people who are actually patients on the psychiatric floor, for pete's sake.
Roadman
Sun, Feb 5, 2012 : 12:48 a.m.
@trespass: What about: 1. The "retroactive degree" U-M allegedly gave as reported in <a href="http://www.a2buzz.org" rel='nofollow'>www.a2buzz.org</a> 2. The failed criminal prosecution of former U-M emergency room doctor Catherine Wilkerson. 3. The numerous allegations of police brutality by U-M campus police. 4. The placing of numerous political activists and minorities on the "Trespass List". 5. The improper faculty use of university resources for political purposes in violation of the Michigan Campaign Finance Act 6. The University's hiring into lucrative full and part-time employment of elected officials having decision-making authority over matters involving U-M who then fail to recuse themselves in such matters.
a2citizen
Fri, Feb 3, 2012 : 11:15 p.m.
...and the beat goes on... I have always felt "...Martin pushes student..." was the epitome of the arrogance that has come to permeate university administrations.
trespass
Fri, Feb 3, 2012 : 8:35 p.m.
What about; 1. The Chief Ken Magee cover up of the reasons he was terminated? 2. The Chief O'dell cover up of why he returned to EMU? 3. The many abuses of the trespass warnings? 4. The Bill Martin pushes aside student security guards fiasco? 5. The no election for more than 10 years for the DPS Oversight Committee oversight? 6. The professor of Cell & Dev Biology Dept. charged with distrubuting child porn issue? 7. The law student & professor prostitution scandal? 8. The Andrei Borisov case 9. The campus police officer arrested for cocaine possession case? 10. and all the undicovered cases because the University was successful in covering up?
trespass
Fri, Feb 3, 2012 : 7:21 p.m.
How about an explanation of how 98 arrests for drug violations becomes 57 and how 7 arrests for weapons becomes two. Is it again a case of gaps in procedures but no people are to blame?
Mick52
Sat, Feb 4, 2012 : 8:15 p.m.
The problem is the article is vague. It does not say where the numbers come from or more importantly why. The explanation is more important than the numbers. It could be IT error or where they got the stats.
pu2um
Fri, Feb 3, 2012 : 8:56 p.m.
@Eep Read the article. It says "arrests."
trespass
Fri, Feb 3, 2012 : 8:55 p.m.
@Eep- you are correct but since these are crimes, why are they not being reported to the campus police? Are we not talking about non-police authorities deciding what crimes to report and what not to?
Eep
Fri, Feb 3, 2012 : 8:26 p.m.
Where are you getting "arrests"? It seems pretty obvious that the higher numbers came from cases referred to disciplinary authorities (Housing and Student Conflict Resolution) and not to the police. Not that it's good for the University to do this - but your assumption places the blame in the wrong place within the University.
Joe Kidd
Fri, Feb 3, 2012 : 6:59 p.m.
"The resident reported her discovery to her supervisor and hospital security, but the university's legal office decided to drop the case instead of reporting it to police. " So there must be a policy that Hosp Sec has to run cases by the attorney's office before handing the case off to the police? Would like to see that policy. Is the attorney's office going to say they didn't know Clery applied? Or since the U is so rich, that it was worth the risk of a fine?
Mick52
Fri, Feb 3, 2012 : 6:52 p.m.
I do not know how unreported crimes could be a Clery violation. Agencies only know what is reported to them. Here if Hospital security knew about it, it is a violation since Clery pertains to police and security departments. Maybe this issue will lead to all three units being consolidated into one. That would end control over Housing and Hospital security by non police administrators. Not sure if that is a good development or not but you can't have people determining what does and does not get reported. Picking and choosing what to report ends up with inaccurate statistics.
Arborcomment
Sun, Feb 5, 2012 : 3:17 a.m.
Mick, previous articles identify the hospital office of general counsel as the one that hospital security reports to. My info is dated, but this was also the case many years ago - incident reports were referred to the Hospital GC. This is the crux of the issue, having non-sworn employees report and take direction from, the hospital administration. As a sworn officer, they have responsibilities to uphold UM, Federal, and State law, and receive proper training. Being sworn also gives the officer some protection from administration influence not available to a "mall cop" employee.
Mick52
Sat, Feb 4, 2012 : 8:09 p.m.
I am not proposing the hospital is staffed with sworn police officers. That is not necessary. But all the security units, which would include the museum security staff must know what Clery requires. I checked online and found it requires university police and security agencies are covered by it. What is necessary is a good working relationship between the agencies. What the story implies is that the case was forwarded to the Atty's office before it was forwarded to the PD, which makes me wonder (not speculate) if hospital security has been ordered to have the GC's office look at high profile cases. A terrible situation because valuable evidence can be lost or contaminated with time.
Arborcomment
Sat, Feb 4, 2012 : 1:52 a.m.
Just, Mick's point is that having sworn "real" Police officers in a command chain outside of hospital and housing administration could assist in preventing the six month hole this fell in.
justcurious
Fri, Feb 3, 2012 : 9:31 p.m.
But it was the General Counsel who dropped it, not security.
average joe
Fri, Feb 3, 2012 : 6:35 p.m.
"In 2011 DOE closed 16 Clery Act investigations, including one at U-M that was finalized on Oct. 3. In that investigation U-M was found in violation of the Clery Act for inaccurately reporting 2008 crime statistics. " Was U/M penalized in any way for this violation?
Kellie Woodhouse
Fri, Feb 3, 2012 : 6:40 p.m.
U-M was required to amend their 2008 crime report. No financial fine was imposed.