Article from the Newport News Daily Press with a little bit more about the CNU allegations:
The suspect accused of abducting a University of Virginia student and linked to a slain Virginia Tech student was investigated in connection with a
possible felony while enrolled at Christopher Newport University 11 years ago.
But Jesse L. Matthew Jr. — then a 21-year-old student and football player at the school — was apparently never arrested or charged in the 2003 incident.
In response to a Daily Press request for information about any criminal incidents involving Matthew while he was enrolled at the school, the CNU Police Department said it has "one document."
The university is withholding all information about the case — including the nature of the complaint — because two police agencies involved in the Charlottesville cases asked the school not to disclose it, CNU Police Chief Andrew H. Engemann Jr. said.
"We're not going to release any information about it," Engemann said Tuesday. "We have been asked to withhold the report because other agencies are conducting an investigation … and it could jeopardize their ongoing investigation."
Engemann would not provide the exact date of the 2003 incident report. He would not reveal any details of the complaint, such as the age, sex or student status of the person who filed it.
Matthew attended CNU from January 2003 to Oct. 15, 2003, university spokeswoman Lori Jacobs said last week. He was a member of the football team, a defensive lineman, for less than a month — from Aug. 14 to Sept. 12, 2003.
"Students don't usually leave in the second month of the semester or leave the football team within a month," Jacobs said. But citing federal privacy laws, she declined to say whether Matthew's abrupt departure stemmed from the criminal complaint.
Under the Virginia Freedom of Information Act, police must disclose basic criminal incident information relative to felony offenses — including a general description and location of the incident, the date and the nature of any injuries suffered.
But there's an exception allowing such information to be withheld if its release is "likely to jeopardize an ongoing investigation or prosecution." Another exemption allows broader "criminal investigative files" to be withheld. Engemann cited both exemptions.
Matthew was apparently not arrested or charged as a result of the CNU incident. Any criminal charges brought by CNU's police department would typically be filed in state courts in Newport News. There are no records there indicating that Matthew was charged by school police.
Engemann declined to elaborate. "Releasing any information could interfere with this investigation, and that's why we have to be careful," he said.
http://www.dailypress.com/news/crime/dp-nws-missing-women-20140930,0,4028950,full.story
