Originally published December 6, 2021.

November may have brought the much-needed break students needed before final exams, but here at The Mace & Crown, we made sure to show up back on campus refreshed and ready to report on what has been happening on the ODU campus.

November has been a quiet month on most accounts, seeing a decrease in reported assaults, destruction of property, bicycle larcenies, hit and runs, and thankfully, DUIs. General larceny did see an increase of three over October. And according to the ODU Crime and Fire Safety log, unfortunately, sexual battery reports are at an all-time high this semester. Title IX resources for students can be found here.

However, the most engaging crime-adjacent event that occurred on campus cannot be found in the ODUPD reports. Shortly before Thanksgiving break, ODU students took to social media to discuss the termination of employment of a JuiceBar employee at the Webb Center. A story post made by Instagram account ODUsFinest25, which claims to be the official class of 2025 Instagram account, was cross shared onto popular ODU adjacent account ConfessODU.

In the story post, the user alerted students of an alleged sex offender who had recently been fired from the Webb establishment. The Mace & Crown reached out to The Juice Bar co-owner for confirmation. Anthony Termaine Coleman was released from his employment at The Juicebar as of Friday, Nov. 12, when Coleman’s criminal record was brought to their attention.

According to the Virginia Judiciary Online Case information, Coleman was out on bail during the Nov. incident after a charge for violating probation on a felony offense. This was after he had pleaded guilty to charges of child sex trafficking in Oct. of 2018, according to WAVYTV10. WAVY had also found that Coleman was a registered sex offender in Maryland at the time of his arrest in 2016, as well as being convicted of rape in Prince George’s County in 2007.

Though ODU requires a background check for a multitude of employees, it would appear that Coleman was not required to undergo this process. At the time, it is unclear if this is because ODU Dining Services and hiring are done through ODU’s partnership with Aramark, or if it was an individual choice made by The Juicebar owners. No concise information was found on Aramark’s background check policy and a PDF concerning a JuiceBar position marketed towards students posted by ODU in 2014 did not define undergoing a criminal background check as part of The JuiceBar hiring process.

Students were obviously upset over this occurrence, as the Webb serves the Monarch community not only as a dining establishment but also as a place of employment for many students. It is often a place to study, meet friends, and ultimately, feel safe. A Freedom of Information Act request was submitted to ODU by the Mace & Crown for further information about JuiceBar employees on Nov. 18. However, ODU FOIA correspondents have not acknowledged nor responded to this request.