Police are investigating a sexual assault reported to have happened in Pollock Halls, Penn State Police said yesterday, though few other details were available.
Mount Nittany Medical Center officials notified police of the sexual assault when the victim went to the hospital for treatment, according to yesterday's police report. Police provided no further comment about when the assault occurred or specifically who was involved.
Because no names have been released, officials from Mount Nittany Medical Center could not comment yesterday.
This is the second on-campus sexual assault reported since April. In a separate incident in April, police said 19-year-old Gary Brian Patterson, of Carnegie, engaged in sexual intercourse with a woman without her consent, police said.
Police found the visibly intoxicated woman wearing only a shirt at 6 a.m. on April 5 in a Redifer Commons computer lab, according to the criminal complaint.
Charges of involuntary deviate sexual intercourse, sexual assault, aggravated indecent assault, indecent assault, indecent exposure and criminal conspiracy were filed against Patterson on July 9. A juvenile was also charge in connection with the incident, police said, but because of his age, the records are sealed.
Patterson, a former Penn State Beaver student, waived his preliminary hearing July 16. His pretrial conference is scheduled for Sept. 18.
Penn State Center for Women Students Director Peggy Lorah said police often release few details about sexual assault investigations -- as is the case with the latest sexual assault report -- and described sexual assault investigations as "victim-sensitive."
"The victim is under no mandate to press charges," she said. "I think the police are really eager to do what feels right for the victim."
When a victim is treated at Mount Nittany Medical Center for sexual assault, special procedures go into effect, which include a Sexual Assault Response Team (SART), Lorah said.
The SART includes a trained forensic nurse, an advocate from the Centre County Women's Resource Center and a police officer from the jurisdiction in which the assault occurred, she said.
The advocate is available to inform the victim of his or her options and the forensic nurse collects evidence that may be used in a criminal case, Lorah said. This is especially important because in a sexual assault case, "the victim's body is the crime scene," she said.
However, a victim doesn't have to talk to police if he or she doesn't want to, Lorah said.
"It's just a matter of having police available," she said.
Depending on the direction of the investigation, sometimes more information about the assault becomes publicly available, Lorah said -- but sometimes it doesn't.
Police usually respect the victim's wishes about whether to proceed with the investigation, she said. Police usually only continue an investigation without victim consent when a weapon is involved or when the community is in danger, she added.
Sexual assaults rarely pose a danger to the general public, Lorah said, because so many assailants are known to their victims.
According to the Center for Women Students Web site, about 80 percent of students who seek services for sexual assault at Penn State are assaulted by an acquaintance.
"It often is the case that there isn't a danger to the general public," Lorah said. "The police have protocols they follow as far as that's concerned."
