By Molly Igoe and Brooke Schultz
News Editors
According to the court records, Douglas Dryden Rae, the owner of Evergrain Bakery, was convicted of second-degree assault and furnishing alcohol to a minor on Wednesday, Jan. 25. He was ordered to have no contact with the victim, a Washington College student and former employee of Evergrain, and he is banned from the College campus. Rae was also ordered to pay over $2,000 in fines and placed on one year of supervised probation, according to the article.
The assault occurred on Oct. 30 at the bakery, which is located at 201 High St., and was reported on Nov. 3. Rae was charged on Nov. 22. When asked to comment, Rae did not respond.
A Jan. 25 article in the Kent County News said the assault occurred when, “Rae, who has owned the business since 2010, was hosting a dinner for friends, but he sent two text messages to the female employee that it was OK if she came to work to prepare the dough…Rae offered the young girl a glass of champagne and tried to dance with her, according to court records. Then Rae kissed her on the cheek twice…afterward, according to court records, she received several text messages from Rae until she blocked his number. She resigned from her job.”
Gerald Roderick, director of Public Safety, said, “The student reached out to our Wellness and Prevention Office to seek assistance in resolving the matter that she had in the workplace, and the coordinator (Lauren Gibson at the time) reached out to us to set up an appointment for the student to meet with a Chestertown police officer and the Alcoholic Beverage Inspector for Kent County (Robert A. Edler).”
“The student came here and met in my office. We talked a little bit about the process, and at that point we turned it over to the Chestertown Police Department (CPD) and the county beverage inspector,” he said. In follow up in cases like that, I reach out to students to see how they’re doing and to see if everything is going okay, and then offer to assist them going through the legal process, because the court room can be pretty intimidating. I will typically go to court with the student and stay with them through the process.”
Roderick said, Public Safety dealt with another accuastion from a female student concerning Rae. “We had a complaint about 10 years ago because Mr. Rae had unwanted contact with a female student, which we intervened and advised him that she wanted no further contact. That’s the only other contact we’ve had with him.”
Lt. John Dolgos of the CPD said, “A lot of times, something will happen off-campus and Public Safety lets us know. It all depends on the victim; a lot of times the victim feels better going through Public Safety and letting them know. It’s their right to not let the police get involved, just to keep it in-house there,” “We have a very good working relationship with Public Safety. If we find out about [a case], we let them know; when they find out about it, they let us know. We’re jointly on the cases if it’s on the College. Usually, they won’t get too much involved if it’s off the College campus, but if it’s on the College campus, we work jointly together on the case.”
Roderick said the extent to which Public Safety has jurisdiction over the case is that, “If it occurs on campus, we can file a criminal complaint for violation of the court order, because he was ordered to have no contact with the student, and he’s not allowed back on to the grounds of WC, per the judge’s sentencing. So, if he comes back onto the grounds, he’s trespassing.”
WC students can report assault to the Department of Public Safety, 410-778-7810. Survivors and friends of survivors of sexual assault, dating violence, and stalking may contact the Sexual Assault Response Advocate hotline, 410-699-0742, available 24/7. More WC-based resources are available at www.washcoll.edu/offices/wellness-and-prevention-education under “Gender-Based Violence Resources.”
Local resources for victims of sexual assault are available through For All Seasons, Inc. via www.forallseasonsinc.org or by calling their hotline, (410) 820-5600 or toll-free 1-800-310-7273.