UPDATED: Nov. 30, 2011 at 1:42 a.m.

Dennis DuVal, who served as Syracuse police chief in 2002, knew about the allegations against Bernie Fine when they first surfaced nine years ago, according to a statement by Police Chief Frank Fowler released Tuesday.

Danielle Roach, a friend of one of the alleged victims, told SPD detective Doug Fox that year that Fine had sexually abused her friend. Roach is known to be the ex-girlfriend of Bobby Davis, though police would not identify the alleged victim’s name.

‘Approximately a month later, Det. Fox took a call from the victim who told the detective he was calling from Utah,’ Fowler said in the statement. ‘In a brief phone conversation, he stated that Bernie Fine had sexually abused him while growing up and the abuse had occurred while he stayed at the Fine residence.’

The victim said the abuse happened more than 12 years before, according to the statement.

Because the statute of limitations had passed and the alleged victim could not provide names of other potential victims, police did not start an investigation or file any formal reports, Fowler said in the statement. Police didn’t know about Syracuse University’s 2005 investigation into the allegations until Nov. 17.

Police also did not have additional evidence that The Post-Standard and ESPN possessed for eight years, according to the statement. On Sunday, ESPN released a tape-recorded conversation between Davis and Fine’s wife, Laurie, who revealed that she knew her husband was allegedly molesting a ball boy. Fine was fired from SU hours later. ESPN reported that it received the recorded conversation from Davis in 2003.

Fowler said he could not change how police handled the allegations back then because he was not police chief.

‘But what I can and will do as chief today is ensure that moving forward all reports of sexual abuse are formally documented,’ he said in the statement. ‘I have ordered a review of all Syracuse Police Department policies and procedures regarding the documentation of sexual abuse allegations made over the phone and appropriate changes will be made accordingly.’

DuVal and SPD Sgt. Tom Connellan did not return calls from The Daily Orange for additional comment.

mcboren@syr.edu

 

Published on November 28, 2011 at 12:00 pm