Night assaults shock campus
The Campus Police is investigating several recent assaults on campus. Three assaults have occurred in the course of the last month.
The victims of all of the attacks were female. Searches of the university area failed to locate any of the suspects in each case.
The Campus Police refused to comment on any of the assaults for fear of compromising the integrity of the investigation.
The first attack happened on Dec. 19 around 7:30 p.m. A white female was sexually assaulted in Lot M, the Allen Center parking lot, which is accessible through Entrance 3 on Main Street.
The victim reported that she had parked her vehicle in Lot M, opened the door and was looking for a receipt in the passenger side of her car.
She then saw the suspect standing by the driver's side door.
The suspect asked her if she had any money.
He then told her not to say anything and proceeded to touch her breasts and genitalia.
He then kissed her and again ran his hand down her underpants. He then told her to close the door, and he exited through Entrance 3 and headed southbound along Main Street.
The suspect was described as a young black male, approximately 16 years of age.
He had a slim build, weighed 130-140 pounds and was about 5-6 or 5-7 in height.
He was clean shaven with very low cut hair and was wearing a forest green and burgundy sweater, light green jeans and a white T-shirt. Searches failed to locate the suspect.
The second of this series of assaults occurred more recently on Jan. 12 at approximately 1:30 p.m. in the Baseball Field and Track Stadium area.
The victim was walking to the Graduate House along the path leading from behind the gymnasium when she was grabbed from behind. She escaped by shrugging off her coat and fleeing the area.
Again, a search to locate the suspect, a 5-6 black male in his 20s, was unsuccessful.
The most recent attack happened at about 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday in the car of a female visitor parked in Lot M.
The victim was approached and accosted by the suspect, described as a 5-6 black male.
He was approximately 16-18 years old with a slim build. He was clean shaven with low cut hair. No suspects were found.
Students had varying reactions to the assaults.
Student Association External Vice President Tony Tran felt that something needed to be done about the incidents.
"I feel that steps need to be taken to curb these acts of violence which seem to have increased in frequency lately," he said.
"By no means should we be in a state of panic. We just need to be careful of our surroundings and avoid going anywhere alone if possible," Tran said.
Hanszen College freshman Jennifer Griffin said she had a "false sense of security" because she wasn't as aware of the crime rate in Houston as she should be.
However, some students, like Sid Richardson College freshman Robin Davidson said they were not concerned by the recent attacks.
"It doesn't really affect me that much because I'm just not scared," she said.
The Campus Police urges anyone with information about any of the assaults or witnesses to notify the department at 527-6000 or any emergency phone.
-- Several Thresher staff members contributed to this story.
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