Discussion List for campus-based and allied personnel working to end gender-based violence on campus.

["shelle michaels" <>]

Hello- This is really long-- but lots of great information in here---

I have been involved with this tragic happening since the day that Dru Sjodin 
disappeared-
as she was my neighbor- since then, her mother Linda Walker has become one of 
my better friends.
I now teach Women Studies at the University of North Dakota, so I use a lot 
of this in my teaching.

This made national news when it was happening-- 1000's of volunteers showed 
up in the harsh ND/MN winter to search for one of our own---
The trial is finally set to start on July 6th, 2006- Alphonso Rodriguez is 
being tried in a Federal Court due to his taking her across state lines.... 
and if found guilty of this kidnapping/murder--- he faces the death penalty! 
Neither ND or MN has the death penalty, but due to federal jurisdiction, this 
can be the punishment for the crime.

Please watch for the outcome-- it is supposed to last 8 weeks at a minimum--



To brief you on this kidnapping/murder--
When Dru Sjodin, a 22-year-old Pequot Lakes native and University of North 
Dakota student, first went missing on November 22, 2003, her family and 
friends hoped and prayed for her safe return. Nearly five months later, after 
countless hours of searching, Dru's body was discovered in a ravine just 
outside of Crookston, Minnesota. The shreds of hope to which so many were 
clinging vanished as news of the discovery spread. Six days later, more than 
1,500 people gathered at her funeral to say goodbye to their beloved Dru.  
http://www.drusvoice.com/life/<http://www.drusvoice.com/life/>

All times given are based on search warrants, preliminary hearing evidence, 
and other court documents, and most times are approximate. This list was 
updated after Alfonso Rodriguez's March 5, 2004 preliminary hearing 

Map of the area between Grand Forks ND and Crookston 
MN<http://www.in-forum.com/pdfs/ACFew8W69.pdf> 

  a.. 4:00: Dru leaves work at Victoria's Secret at Columbia Mall in Grand 
Forks, North Dakota. 
  b.. 4:00: Alfonso Rodriguez Jr is seen on a store security camera leaving a 
SuperTarget in Grand Forks, North Dakota, a few blocks from the Columbia 
Mall. According to store receipts later found in his home, Rodriguez had been 
at the Columbia Mall earlier in the day. "Evidence" shows that Rodriguez 
returned to the Columbia Mall and was there about the time Dru disappeared. 
  c.. 4:30: Rodriguez told police he saw Once Upon a Time in Mexico in a 
Columbia Mall movie theatre at this time, which ended between 7 and 7:30. 
This film was not playing in any area theatre on November 22, and hadn't been 
playing at any theatre in the mall since September. 
  d.. 4:55: Dru buys a purse at Marshall Field's in Columbia Mall. 
  e.. 
  f.. 5:04: The call ends abruptly as Dru says what Lang remembers as "OK, 
OK" (not "Oh my God" as often reported) 
  g.. Between 7:00 and 7:30: Rodriguez told police he ate at a nearby 
McDonald's before returning home. A surveillance camera at that McDonald's 
does not show him there. 7:42: Another phone call from Dru's phone to Lang's, 
which he describes as being nothing but static and "tones," as if random 
buttons were being pushed. The call is picked up by a cellular tower in 
Fisher, Minnesota, about 15 miles from Grand Forks (the phone continued to be 
logged into that tower for about 24 hours, until the evening of November 23, 
which could mean the phone was nearby until then; the phone has not been 
recovered). Lang calls Dru's roommate. 
  h.. 8:00: Rodriguez returns home (to Crookston, Minnesota), according to 
his mother (Crookston is a little over 11 miles from Fisher, about a 16 
minute drive). She alternately claims he got home around 8:15. 
  i.. 9:30: Dru's roommate calls University of North Dakota police to report 
Dru missing, after Dru doesn't show up for her 9:00 shift at a local bar. 
  j.. 11:00: Police find Dru's car in the northeast parking area of the 
Columbia Mall (she made a habit of parking in the southwest parking area, 
near both Victoria's Secret and Marshall Field's). The driver's side door was 
locked, but the passenger side door was not. Inside the car were Dru's 
pocketbook and the shopping bag containing her new purse, but her keys were 
gone. Outside of the car, near the passenger's door, was a sheath that 
matches a knife later found in Rodriguez's car. 
  k.. 4:00am, November 23: Adam Schultz, Dru's former boyfriend, examines 
Dru's car which is still in the Columbia Mall parking lot, not being guarded 
by police. After the preliminary hearing, he says he and four of Dru's 
sorority sisters searched the car. 

Complete Background
Dru Sjodin, a University of North Dakota student, left her job at Victoria's 
Secret at the Columbia Mall in Grand Forks ND around 4pm on November 22, 2003 
(complete timeline). According to her boyfriend, Chris Lang, she was speaking 
with him on her cell phone around 5pm, from the mall parking lot (after doing 
some shopping), when she said "Okay, okay," (early reports had her saying "Oh 
my God"), followed by her phone going dead. He received another call from her 
phone a few hours later, but heard only static. 

On December 1, police arrested Alfonso Rodriguez Jr, a registered Level III 
sex offender from Minnesota, with abducting her. The evidence leading to the 
arrest, or at least the evidence released to the public, is outlined here. On 
May 12, 2004, a federal grand jury charged Rodriguez with kidnapping and 
murder, and in October U.S. Attorney Drew Wrigley announced that the 
prosecution would seek the death penalty. 

Update: Rodriguez is scheduled to stand trial July 6, 2006.


Archive of stories- 
http://www.in-forum.com/specials/drusjodin<http://www.in-forum.com/specials/drusjodin/>



Linda Walker and many Congressional Leaders have also been working 
relentlessly to get Dru's Law- the Child Protection Act passed--- do what you 
all can and contact your representatives and voice your opinions on the 
importance of this national act.

Too many children have since been the victims in which this particular act 
could have been an intervention process.
http://www.drusvoice.com/law/<http://www.drusvoice.com/law/> 

February 9, 2006 

The Child Safety Protection Act has been passed through the House, and the 
Senate has been working on its own comprehensive, bipartisan bill, which is 
H.R. 4472/S. 1086  

One of the differences between the two bills is that the Child Safety 
Protection Act contains only the national registry provision of Dru's Law, 
whereas S. 1086 includes all the provisions of Dru's Law.  Senator Dorgan 
worked hard to make sure that the Senate bill encompassed all of Dru's Law.

S. 1086 has been passed by the Senate Judiciary Committee, and now must be 
taken up by the Senate as a whole.  I hope that the Senate will take up the 
bill at some point in the near future, since the appointment of Alito has 
been confirmed and the Patriot Act has been extended.  

Once the Senate passes its bill, the House and the Senate would have to meet 
to resolve any differences between the Child Safety Protection Act and S. 
1086.  The bill would then go to the President.  

These actions would have to take place before the end of this Congress - 
meaning by the end of this year.  If not, then the Senate and the House would 
have to once again pass their respective bills.  But I hope that it will not 
come to that, and that legislation will be passed and signed into law this 
year.  We hope through all of our collective efforts, including contacting 
your Representatives and their backing, that we will ensure the passage of 
Dru's Law/ Children's Safety Protection Act of 2005. 


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

What H.R. 4472 Will Achieve 
The new Children's Safety and Violent Crime Reduction Act of 2005 will:

? Improve the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Program to ensure 
that sex offenders register and keep current where they reside, work and 
attend school 

? Require quarterly verification, in-person verification and regular 
notarized verification mailings 

? Require public access to state websites 

? Create the Dru Sjodin National Sex Offender Public Website to search for 
sex offender information in each community 

? Expand terms to include juvenile sex offenders 

? Require states to notify one another when a sex offender moves from one 
state to another 

? Expand sex offenses covered by registration and notification requirements 
to include military, tribal, foreign and sex crimes and increase the duration 
of registration requirements to protect the public 

? Expand community notification requirements to include active efforts to 
inform law enforcement agencies, schools, public housing, social service 
agencies and volunteer organizations in areas where sex offenders reside, 
work or attend school 

? Create a new criminal penalty of a maximum of 20 years incarceration for 
sex offenders who refuse to comply with registration requirements 

? Protect foster children from sexual abuse and exploitation 





a.. Dru Sjodin: November 22, 2003 
Timeline<http://crime.allinfoabout.com/sjodin/timeline.html>


a.. Lawmakers Push for Federal Sex Offender 
Registry<http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/LegalCenter/story?id=667895&page=1>


a.. North Dakota Legislature: Group of bills tighten vise on sex 
offenders<http://www.grandforks.com/mld/grandforks/11388768.htm>


a.. Government activates sex offender registry - July 21, 2005 
<http://www.grandforks.com/mld/grandforks/12183382.htm>


a.. National Offender Registry Ready, sort of - July 21, 
2005<http://www.in-forum.com/articles/index.cfm?id=98254&section=News>


a.. Gonzales likes idea of national sex offender registry - July 21, 
2005<http://www.in-forum.com/ap/index.cfm?page=view&id=D8BG2SF81>


a.. Supporters to rally for Children's Safety Act -July 27th 2005 
<http://www.grandforks.com/mld/grandforks/12209403.htm>


a.. Dru Sjodin's mother leads rally for sex-offender law - July 27th, 
2005<http://www.startribune.com/stories/587/5527760.html>


a.. Bill aims at child sex offenders - July 27th 
2005<http://www.twincities.com/mld/twincities/news/12230299.htm>


a.. House panel passes 'Dru's Law' in sex offender bill - July 27, 
2005<http://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/2005-07-27-sex-offender-bill_x.htm>


a.. DOMESTIC ABUSE/SEXUAL ASSAULT CONFERENCE: Meeting's goal is to 'break the 
silence'<http://www.grandforks.com/mld/grandforks/news/12621747.htm>


a.. Judge: Rodriguez Jr.'s previous sex crimes can be used in court - 
September 29, 2005<http://www.grandforks.com/mld/grandforks/news/12772732.htm>


a.. Judge rejects Rodriguez claim that death penalty is 
biased<http://www.grandforks.com/mld/grandforks/news/13295828.htm> 


  Shelle Michaels
UND Women Studies Instructor
2109 University Avenue STOP 7026
UND
Grand Forks, ND 58202 
218-779-7271 
<mailto:>
<mailto:>

"There came a time when the risk to remain tight in the bud
was more painful than the risk it took to blossom."
~Anais Nin