UNITED STATES
Mennonite World Review
Dec 5, 2016 by Mennonite World Review staff
Eastern Mennonite University announced on Nov. 28 that an external investigation of its response to allegations of sexual misconduct by a former vice president of enrollment found no evidence that administrators had reason to dismiss Luke Hartman prior to his January resignation.
In July, the EMU board of trustees engaged D. Stafford & Associates, a Delaware-based consulting firm that investigates campus safety and law enforcement issues, including compliance with federal regulations.
The external investigation was done in response to allegations of sexual misconduct by Hartman, who resigned days after a Jan. 8 arrest for solicitation of prostitution — a charge that was ultimately dismissed by a judge.
On March 20, Lindale Mennonite Church pastors and elders acknowledged in a congregational letter that an alleged “abusive relationship” involving member Hartman was brought to staff attention in August 2014.
EMU’s release states that DSA found no evidence that EMU administrators had prior information that would have been reason not to hire Hartman. DSA also found administrators did not have information that would have been reason to dismiss Hartman prior to his January resignation.
In performing its inquiry into what EMU knew, D. Stafford & Associates accepted as credible Lauren Shifflett’s April 12 blog posting, which included a recounting of her relationship with Hartman. The DSA report indicates Hartman and Lindale Pastor Duane Yoder met with EMU President Loren Swartzendruber on Sept. 2, 2014. The two men described the relationship as a consensual affair with a 19- to 20-year-old woman from the congregation — diverging from Shifflett’s descriptions of verbal abuse and threats of physical violence.
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