College Defends Custodians Despite Arrests
BY NINA LALLI
NINA LALLI

In an interview Thursday morning, College President Nancy Dye said that custodians Stephan Coleman and Frances Allen had not been caught stealing, despite their arrest on Jan. 17. Neither employee was fired, and both continue to work in their original positions. “Certainly, they were not guilty of anything that would suggest their termination,” she said.
Diana Roose, an assistant to the president, denied any consideration of firing Allen and Coleman. “There was never an issue about whether they would be fired or not,” she said. 
Not only does the College continue to employ the two custodians, it plans to fight on their behalf. 
“The school is actively pursuing an attempt to have the charges dismissed, and hopefully that will happen,” Vice President of College Relations Al Moran said. 
Though it is not official, Michael J. Duff, the attorney for the defense, is confident the case will be thrown out. “To my knowledge it is going to be dismissed. That’s what the College tells me,” he said, adding, “the alleged victim is the College. If they want the case dismissed, I think the court will go along with that.” 
Presently, the ongoing case’s pre-trials are set for May 17. 
Ruth Spencer, director of human resources, attributed the initial arrests to simple confusion. “The College is through with this case,” she said, adding, “Unfortunately, it’s taken the prosecution a lot longer to clear it up than the College.”
The items in question were smaller and less expensive than those taken previously from the Audio Visual Department. In addition, they were not removed from the library, but moved from one area to another within the building. “They were not taken off-campus. They were not taken in any way that would indicate theft,” Spencer said.
“When asked about them, they were able to produce the items,” Spencer said. She added that Allen and Coleman had legitimate reason to use the things they transported. “They were things they would ordinarily use at work,” she said. 
Spencer used the word “borrow” rather than “steal” when describing the actions of Allen and Coleman. “Upon further investigation, it was determined that the property had not been stolen,” she said.
The custodians worked in the Audio Visual area of Mudd Library, where other thefts had occurred last spring and in the fall. In October, the school installed security cameras in hopes of catching whoever had taken expensive items such as DVD players. In January, a video tape that placed suspicion on Coleman and Allen was handed over to the Oberlin Police Department. The custodians are charged with theft and two counts of unauthorized use of property. 
“There is no reason to think that the same person took them,” Spencer said. Thefts on this level have not continued recently, nor has it been determined who committed those which took place earlier.