The State College Police Department said yesterday that it has no new information regarding the Sunday morning gang rape of a 19-year-old Penn State student.

Sgt. John Wilson said the department has an abundance of other investigations and did not know when new information would be available.

Police had said Sunday the rape occurred between 4 and 4:40 a.m. The suspects were described as three white men between 20 and 25 years old. One wore a blue sweater and another wore a white T-shirt, police said. After allegedly raping the victim, the men fled down Garner Street toward Beaver Avenue.

According to the State College Police Department, 78 women are raped each hour in the United States. Peggy Lorah, director of the Center for Women Students, said 10 to 25 percent of those are stranger rapes.

"Stranger rapes do occur, and this is an example of how awful it can be," she said.

State College Police Officer Tony Lopinsky said people should stay in well-lit areas and avoid walking alone at night.

Penn State has a free escort service between dusk and dawn. Lopinsky and Penn State Police Services Supervisor Clifford Lutz suggest students use the service, which is available for people walking alone within a one-mile radius of campus. The phone number is 865-WALK.

Lutz added that defense tools such as pepper spray are permitted on campus.

Nittany Notes owner Tom Matis decided to start selling pepper spray last year after the roommate of a friend's daughter was murdered at a college in New Orleans. The friend, from Philadelphia, has a business with a line of pepper spray.

Matis said the spray is very effective and useful, so he continues to sell it even though he has only sold 25 or 30 canisters over two semesters.

"It's not very profitable, but it's definitely a good idea," he said.

All assault situations are different, and each needs to be assessed individually, Lopinsky said. He added that some attackers are more violent than others.

Lutz said self-defense requires a decision to be willing to injure someone to save one's self. Most defense classes are very intensive, he added.

"There are no rules when fighting to save your life," Lutz said.

If a sexual assault does occur, Lutz said the victim should first get to a place of safety. After that, any medical needs should be treated. Lopinsky said if the victim seeks treatment, the police will then be notified by the hospital.

Also, all physical evidence should be preserved, Lopinsky said.

Lorah stressed the importance of a forensics exam within the first 72 hours of the attack.

"A woman's body is the crime scene," she said. "[An exam] is really important as a way of preserving their legal options."

Victims should not shower, brush their teeth or change their clothes after an assault, Lorah said.

She added that after an assault, victims are very vulnerable and the last thing they may want to do is consent to an exam. It is important for victims to know it is their decision, she said.

The Sexual Assault Response Team (SART) was created in 2001 and consists of a police officer, a sexual assault counselor or advocate, and a nurse. The task force members are trained in dealing with sexual assault, Ellen Nagy, University Health Services marketing manager, said.

Nagy said SART works as a group so the victim has to tell her story once.

The university provides many resources to victims, such as counseling through the Center for Counseling and Psychological Services (CAPS), medical services that include forensic exams and follow-up visits, and victim advocate services, Nagy said.

"I think it's really important for women to work with advocates to navigate the court system," Lorah said.

It is also important for victims, as well as others, to understand that it was not their fault they were victims of sexual assault.

"Anyone should be able to walk down the street at 4 a.m. without someone grabbing them and raping them," she said.

Dawn McKee, education and outreach coordinator for the Centre County Women's Resource Center, said while the prevalence of stranger rape is low in this area, statistics don't mean anything to the victim.

"With sexual assault victims there's always a level of fear, but with a stranger rape I imagine that sense of fear is heightened," McKee said.

She added victims of stranger rape are always wondering who the perpetrator was.

Alcohol and drug use is often associated with sexual assault, but Lorah said that victims should not let that prevent them from reporting the crime or seeking assistance.

Centre County District Attorney Ray Gricar said while he will not make a blanket statement on whether his office will never prosecute a sexual assault victim who drinks illegally or uses drugs, it is unlikely.

"The use of alcohol is often how a perpetrator commits his crime, and I certainly wouldn't prosecute the victim on top of what she's already been through as a victim of sexual assault," Gricar said.

Anyone with information about Sunday's alleged assault is asked to call State College police at 234-7150.