Family ties to Stockton University will have no impact on investigations into four sexual assaults that civil lawsuits allege happened there, according to a statement released from the Atlantic County Prosecutor’s Office.
Over several weeks last month, four separate women filed suits in federal court alleging they were assaulted by men in relationship to parties at Pi Kappa Pi, a fraternity not sanction at the university.
Of the four suits, two of the most recent matters are being investigated by Galloway Township police, according to the release.
One incident was never reported to any law enforcement agency, according to the office. And one resulted in a criminal charge of invasion of privacy against Zachary Madle for allegedly
posting an encounter on SnapChat.
“The length of time that is required to charge an alleged sexual assault case is attributed to the wait for the DNA lab reports,” the release explains.
After receiving an initial report in November 2017, the office obtained a court order for buccal swabs from the defendant Jan. 10, according to the office. The subsequent lab report was not received until March 22.
A third Stockton University student is claiming she was raped after being fed a funny drink at a Pi Kappa Phi party, a fraternity the school says is not recognized there. The woman, identified as D.N., says in a federal lawsuit filed Friday that women at the Sept. 23, 2014 party she attended were g
“The matter is still being actively investigated and a decision will be made as to what charges will be presented to the grand jury in the near future,” the release stated.
The incident was reported about a month before Damon Tyner was sworn in as prosecutor. Because his wife, Dr. Nicole Milan-Tyner, is associate director of Stockton’s Career Center, he is not involved in the investigation, according to his office.
Instead, it is being handled by First Assistant Cary Shill, just as other cases deemed off-limits, such as those in which Tyner oversaw when he was a Superior Court judge.
Assistant Prosecutor Aaron Witherspoon is the prosecutor assigned to the case. He reports directly to Shill.
Also, Chief Assistant Prosecutor Danielle Buckley — who heads the Special Victims Unit — has no involvement in any Stockton University matters since her father is university President Harvey Kesselman, the statement said.
