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Police report campus assault
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by Natalie Rhoads
Monday, March 14, 2005
The University of Wisconsin Police Department responded to the reported sexual assault of a woman Thursday night, which occurred in the UW Arboretum.
The assault took place sometime before the police were contacted at approximately 8 p.m. According to a police report, the suspect offered a ride to the victim, who was walking alone at an undisclosed location in Madison. The victim accepted the ride and the suspect drove her to the arboretum where the victim was sexually assaulted. The suspect then transported her to near her place of residence, according to a police report.
The suspect is reportedly someone the victim had previously met through an acquaintance.
The victim was treated at Meriter Hospital later that evening where police arrived to question the victim. She was later released from the hospital with no significant injuries, according to police.
Police believe the incident was isolated, and the public is not in any additional danger.
However, UWPD Sgt. Jason Whitney said students should be aware of sexual assaults on campus and take all precautions to remain safe.
“I definitely think [UW students] need to be concerned about [sexual assaults],” Whitney said.
He added that UWPD also keep a close patrol of areas considered to be of high risk to students, which include areas of dark pathways where students would walk when returning from the library and also secluded areas such as the arboretum.
“We keep our eyes open, and we hit those areas routinely,” Whitney said.
Whitney added that after Thursday’s incident, there was a thorough search of the area, and the incident is currently being investigated.
“The area was closed off for the remainder of that night for the investigation,” Whitney said.
Promotion Awareness Victim Empowerment member Jessica Teng said one out of every eight women at UW will be sexually assaulted before the end of her four years on campus. Most of these assaults take place during freshman year, Teng said.
“It is definitely an issue on the campus,” Teng said.
She added that although most students seem to think they only need to be cautious of strangers, she said a large portion of assaults are similar to Thursday’s incident and often involve an acquaintance of the victim.
“Society really does up the thing of the scary guy jumping out of the bush,” Teng said.
Teng added that UW has an excellent system to educate students, which is the best form of prevention.
