STATE COLLEGE — The State College Police Department underreported hundreds of rapes in its public crime data over nearly a decade, a 10-month investigation by Spotlight PA found. The mistake, which led to highly inaccurate public crime statistics, was not disclosed to the public before the story’s Dec. 18 publication.
State College police, who serve over 57,000 residents in three municipalities in Centre County, reported a total of 67 rapes in crime submissions to Pennsylvania State Police from 2013 to 2021. But the department conceded to Spotlight PA that it had been using an outdated definition of the crime, and that there had been 321 rapes during that period — a 254-case difference.
State College Police Chief John Gardner, who retired at the end of 2025, told Spotlight PA that the incorrect reporting was “not done intentionally.”
In response to a detailed list of findings shared with police officials and State College borough prior to the publication of the investigation, the police department expressed in a statement “a great level of dissatisfaction.”
“The information presented appears to be more representative of an op-ed article than an objective reporting piece,” the statement said in part. Read the full response here.
Here are three key takeaways from the investigation:
Officials say they learned of the FBI’s updated rape definition 9 years late
Police departments across the commonwealth are required to report crime statistics to Pennsylvania State Police. The agency then makes the data available to the public and shares them with the FBI. Law enforcement agencies must use the FBI definition of crimes when they tally and submit data.
In 2013, the FBI broadened its longstanding definition of rape to be more inclusive and more accurate — a move supported by national organizations for police and sheriffs, as well as anti-rape groups.
But former State College Police Chief Tom King, who oversaw the department from 1993 to 2016, told Spotlight PA word of this critical change never reached him.
“Whoever they addressed it to, I don’t recall ever seeing any direction from the State Police to make a change, or being aware that it was changed,” said King, who is now interim manager in neighboring Ferguson Township. “That doesn’t mean they didn’t. We’re talking about 12 years ago.”
Gardner told the newsroom he didn’t know about the definition change until a records supervisor completed a training in 2022 and encouraged the department to update what should be counted as rape in public crime data.
Hundreds of rapes were classified as lesser offenses in public safety data
At Spotlight PA’s request, the department reviewed cases from 2013 to 2021 to calculate how many cases were affected by police using the outdated definition of rape.
From 2013 to 2021, State College police reported 254 incidents as sex offenses that should have been classified as rapes, according to their own assessment. Crimes categorized as sex offenses come with lower penalties and are treated with less urgency by law enforcement.
Rape is a “part one” crime, while sex offenses are “part two” crimes.
In police speak, part one crimes are the most severe offenses: homicide, rape, robbery, aggravated assault, human trafficking. They are high priorities for law enforcement, often bringing with them pressure to make arrests and clear cases. These are considered indicators of the level of crime occurring in the country, according to the FBI Uniform Crime Reporting Handbook.
Experts told Spotlight PA that the way rapes are labeled matters for victims and communities.
“It’s not just about how it shows up in statistics, it’s about how people think about what’s happened to them, how other people think about what’s happened to them, how the community thinks about what’s happened to them,” said Anne Ard, former executive director of Centre Safe, a State College-based organization that supports survivors of sexual violence.
Spotlight PA identified other potential issues with how State College police handled rape cases
For years, rape cases were habitually described as “assaults” in internal police records, Spotlight PA found. The newsroom also questioned whether factors other than the new definition made previous rape numbers appear low.
Additionally, Spotlight PA identified a case in which two victims reported rapes and the police recorded only one. One police official told reporters that rapes are counted by incident, not by victim — going against well-established FBI rules and indicating a separate violation from underreporting.
However, when asked about it, Gardner told Spotlight PA: “You report victims to UCR, OK, we don’t do it by incident. Do you understand?”
Gardner insisted the department handled the case properly, and said he did not know the source of the discrepancy.
The newsroom cannot determine if undercounting rape victims by using the incident count was an isolated incident or a more prevalent problem. State law does not allow public access to police investigative files, and State College police refused Spotlight PA’s request to review them.
If you or someone you know is experiencing sexual violence, Centre Safe is available 24/7 at 877-234-5050.