Smith Student Says Rape Report Was Hoax, Quits College

A rape report that prompted students to hold a candlelight vigil and police to circulate a composite sketch of the alleged rapist was a hoax, Smith College officials said today.

The unidentified Smith College student who reported the rape withdrew from classes and left the campus Thursday, college spokeswoman Mary Callahan said.

“The student has now admitted to me that the story was untrue and that no attack of any kind took place,” Dean Ann M. Burger told the school’s 2,500 women students.

About 100 people held a candlelight vigil at Smith and marched through Northampton last week to show their disgust over the alleged attack, Callahan said. Police issued a composite sketch of the “attacker.”