The Cardinal receives redacted incident reports for campus rapes

By Jai’Michael Anderson

There have been six unsolved rapes on the University of Louisville’s Belknap campus as of Sept. 30, 2025. Despite this, students have not received safety alerts, and the university maintains that the situation does not warrant any.

When inquired about the first four reports, U of L Interim Vice President of Marketing and Communications John Karman told The Cardinal, “You would need to file an Open Records Request to receive this information (suspects’ identities).”

This request was fulfilled on Sept. 25, but the reports on each crime are heavily redacted. They can be found below.

UL25-000702_Redacted UL25-000682_Redacted UL25-000711_Redacted UL25-000747_Redacted

Redacted incident reports of an on-campus rape that reportedly occurred on Aug. 30, 2025.

The university says they omitted personal and investigative information in accordance with two Kentucky laws: KRS 17.150(2) and KRS 61.878(1)(a). Sherri Pawson, associate director at the compliance office of university counsel, says the information was withheld for privacy concerns.

“We redacted all identifying information (of) victims, witnesses, informants, uncharged suspects, as it would be an invasion of privacy to release these details to the public,” said Pawson.

These are ongoing law enforcement investigations, and the premature release of the information could jeopardize any pending prosecution by identifying witnesses not otherwise known and tipping them off to the direction of the ongoing criminal investigation and case and impact witness recollection of the incidents. Until a prosecution has concluded or a determination not to prosecute is made, the investigative information is withheld.

The Cardinal is dedicated to the privacy of each victim and would never identify sex crime victims.

All but one of the cases remain open. The Aug. 17 report of statutory rape and tampering with physical evidence identified Ismail Ali, 23, as the arrested individual. According to the redacted incident report, Ali was found by an officer having intercourse with a minor in a vehicle outside a U of L Athletics Center.

The Clery Act records, available on the University of Louisville Crime and Fire Log, now show that seven rapes have been reported on campus during the first seven weeks of classes. The latest two instances reportedly occurred on the same day, Sept. 13 in Belknap Villages North and South, just hundreds of feet apart.

Excerpts from the U of L Crime and Fire Log, Oct. 5, 2025.

With the limited information provided by the university, it is unclear whether or not any of these crimes have the same suspect.

According to the Annual Security and Safety Report  released by the University on Aug. 29, this is the highest amount of rapes reported since 2023, which had seven the entire year.

Photo courtesy/U of L Police Department