Sexual assault forum identifies 'Jane Doe'

An expert panel of scientific, legal, law enforcement and victim?s rights advocates drew a more than 150 people to a forum titled ?Rape: Breaking the Stigmas? on campus Feb. 11.

The symposium was designed to raise awareness about the crime of sexual assault, and to provide useful information on relevant topics of interest to law enforcement, first responders, forensic scientists and nurses, victims, and the community at large, especially college-age men and women.

Dean of Student Affairs Rochelle Calhoun moderated the panel, which featured the following speakers: Dr. Henry Lee, founder and professor of the forensic science program at the University of New Haven and chief emeritus of the Connecticut State Police; Donna Palomba, founder of Jane Doe No More; Jim Murphy, Saratoga County district attorney; Ed Moore, Saratoga Springs chief of police; and Maggie Fronk, executive director of Domestic Violence/Rape Crisis Services of Saratoga County.

Palomba, parent of Skidmore graduate Sarah Palomba ?07, founded Jane Doe No More after being sexually assaulted in 1993 at her home in southern Connecticut, and being revictimized by the police in Waterbury, Conn., as she sought justice in her case. In a bizarre coincidence, the man eventually charged in Palomba?s case is the same person charged with the 2005 attempted kidnapping of a Saratoga Springs high school student as she left the school grounds following track practice. That man, John Regan, was eventually convicted of both crimes and is now in prison.

Click here to read The Post-Star report on the panel.

Click here to view NewsChannel 13?s interview with Donna Palomba.

Click here to read The Saratogian report on the panel.