On Feb. 15, a Toyon residential staff member alerted two University officials that Akeen Valdez, who is not a Stanford student but was living in Toyon with a resident, had been accused of sexual assault by a female Toyon resident. It would be more than a month before a stay-away letter was issued against Valdez, and more than two months before he would be escorted off campus by University officials.
The staff member reported the incident to the Residence Dean of Toyon and Stern Hall, Arcadio Morales, and Dean of Sexual Assault Angela Exson on Feb. 15, two days after the alleged assault occurred. University officials suspected he was lodging in Sigma Chi and Florence Moore Hall (FloMo) in addition to Toyon.
No further contact between the Toyon staff member and administrators occurred until two weeks later, on Feb. 28, when Valdez was again spotted in Toyon, after he and his Stanford-student host were told by the staff member that Valdez would not be allowed back in the dorm. The following day, this same staff member requested a meeting with Morales, at which point Morales said that he had informed staff at Sigma Chi to look out for Valdez, that FloMo was too large of a hall to contact and that he thought that Valdez would stay away from Toyon after being asked to do so by the staff member.
Scott Galey ’12, a resident assistant (RA) of Sigma Chi, told The Daily he does not recall receiving a phone call or alert from Morales or any other University official. Galey was not aware of Valdez or any other lodger in Sigma Chi.
Guests who stay for three consecutive days or five days in a single quarter in Stanford housing are required to register with the Stanford Housing front desk, according to guest policy. Housing strengthened policies to prevent against unauthorized occupants following an “incident” that occurred several years ago, according to a Housing representative who was likely referring to the case of Azia Kim, who lived in Stanford housing for nearly a year from 2006 to 2007, despite never being an enrolled student.
Valdez claims he was on campus to work on a start-up with several other Stanford students, which he continues to do from an off-campus apartment.
On March 20, five weeks after the initial incident was reported to University officials, Stanford issued a stay-away letter to Valdez, according to University spokesperson Lisa Lapin.
At the time initial concerns were voiced, Valdez received multiple warnings to leave the campus, including a written stay-away letter issued to him March 20.
Valdez denied receiving such a letter, but did say that University administrators had warned him not to come within 50 feet of student residences. His Twitter feed shows photos taken from the Stanford campus on March 30 and April 16.
On May 4, more than a month after the stay-away letter was issued, the Department of Public Safety (SUDPS) was called to FloMo — one of the residences Valdez is known to have stayed in — to accompany University staff in confronting Valdez. After arriving at the dorm room where he was staying, University staff escorted Valdez off the premises, according to an SUDPS report.
On May 9, Fran’Cee Brown-McClure, student affairs officer for Residential Education, sent an email to all RAs with a picture of Valdez, identifying him as an “illegal lodger” and notifying RAs that, “we have reason to believe that [Valdez’s] presence could be a threat to other Stanford students.” The notice informed students to contact SUDPS deputies if they see Valdez on campus.
The University has not pressed charges against Valdez; however, failure to comply with a stay-away letter could result in trespassing charges, a criminal misdemeanor.
“The warnings are over,” Lapin said. “If he comes on campus again, he will be subject to arrest.”
Lapin added that administrators were unable to confirm that Valdez committed any crime, but decided to ban him from campus given student concern.
“While the University has not been able to verify any criminal conduct to date, Stanford takes any concerns voiced by students seriously,” Lapin said.