The Digital Collegian - Published independently by students at Penn State
NEWS
[ Thursday, Oct. 30, 2003 ]

Two assaults reported
Police seek leads regarding on-and off-campus attacks

Collegian Staff Writer

The State College Police Department and Penn State Police Services are investigating two separate indecent stranger assaults that occurred this week.

At about 12:15 a.m. yesterday, a woman was accosted in the 200 block of West Calder Way by four male suspects who had been following her, said Sgt. John Wilson of the State College police. The men surrounded her and became physically and verbally aggressive -- at which point they began to inappropriately touch her. The victim fled and later contacted police.

Other Reported Attacks

1. June 25
Two suspects, one armed with a knife, forced their way into a victim's car, make her drive to an area near Fraternity Row, and raped her.

2. Aug. 30
A woman is sexually assaulted at the corner of Pugh Street and East Nittany Avenue. The victim fights off the attacker after he tried to remove her clothes.

3. Sept. 10
A woman is sexually assaulted on campus. The victim is approached from behind and the suspect lowers her shorts and undergarmets before getting away.

4. Sept. 19
An unidentified man tries to remove the clothing of a woman in the 600 block of Clay Lane. The woman fights off the assailant.

5. Sept. 26
A woman is grabbed by an unknown assailant near the HUB lawn. The victim fights off the attacker.

6. Oct. 3
A suspect tries to remove the clothes of a 17-year-old woman near Central Parklet. She is able to flee the scene.

7. Oct. 5
A female student reports being sexually assaulted by two men in a restroom at Pollock Undergraduate Library.


The victim was unable to provide police with descriptions of the suspects, Wilson said.

In another incident, Penn State Police Supervisor Bill Moerschbacher said that at about 8:30 p.m. Monday, a female Penn State student was walking on the sidewalk between the Electrical Engineering Building West and the Hintz Alumni Center when two white, male suspects grabbed her. The suspects touched her inappropriately, but fled when a passerby entered the area.

The first suspect in the incident was described as wearing a blue Penn State baseball cap, a black coat, blue jeans and sneakers.

He had no facial hair and was not wearing glasses, Moerschbacher said.

The second suspect was described only as wearing a baseball cap, blue jeans and sneakers, he said.

The female reported the incident to police on Tuesday.

Four sexual assaults occurred on campus and in downtown State College last month.

The two on-campus and two downtown September assaults have yet to be solved.

While this week's two assaults appear to contribute to an unusual pattern, no evidence warrants a direct connection among the crimes.

The incidents prompted Penn State police to increase its presence within the last month around areas where the earlier assaults occurred.

Any witnesses or others with information about these incidents are asked to call State College police at 234-7150 or Penn State police at 863-1111.

 



TOP  HOME
Blogs  About  Contact Us  Back Issues  Advertising 

Copyright © 2009 Collegian Inc.