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Police arrest suspect after sexual assault

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Also by Heather Quitos:

In-Depth: Spending money to make money (April 26, 2007)
J-Cheezy, UW kick off challenge (April 20, 2007)
In-Depth: Looking inside UW's closet (April 12, 2007)
Recruiters face diversity issue (March 26, 2007)
Tag-team academics (March 14, 2007)

by Heather Quitos

Monday, March 6, 2006

Police arrested Madison resident Steven Lopez-Ruiz early Sunday morning on charges of second-degree sexual assault, robbery and parole violation.

Officers were searching for 24-year-old Lopez-Ruiz after he allegedly assaulted a 19-year-old woman early Friday morning in the West Johnson Street and Frances Street area.

"It was a violent crime, but we were able to attain evidence," Madison Police Department Public Information Officer Mike Hanson said. "From that evidence we received, we found the suspect."

According to an MPD release, police officers received a call around 3 a.m. and responded to a report of a sexual assault in the area.

The release states the victim and a friend were returning from a State Street bar and decided to part ways and walk to their own residences separately.

"She went walking home the rest of the way by herself, and when she entered the building, she was violently hit, battered and sexually assaulted," Hanson said.

Lopez-Ruiz allegedly choked the victim, punched her in the face and engaged in second-degree sexual assault, according to the release.

Hanson could not provide specific details of the assault, but according to state law, second-degree sexual assault can include sexual contact or sexual intercourse with another person without consent of that person by use or threat of force or violence, among other definitions.

The release states the victim fought back against Lopez-Ruiz, kicking and screaming before he assaulted her and stole her purse.

The victim suffered a bruised face and eye after the incident.

Around 3 a.m. Sunday, police arrested Lopez-Ruiz on the 300 block of State Street after a police officer noticed he fit the description of the suspect wanted, according to a release.

Officers arrested Lopez-Ruiz and placed him in the Dane County Jail.

Ald. Austin King, District 4, whose district borders the area in which the incident happened, said Madison's downtown is relatively safe.

"When you have lots of lights and people, it's much more safer," he said. "This [incident] doesn't fit a pattern, necessarily."

But King said such incidents spurred the passing of a law requiring locks on apartment buildings and also warned against all types of suspects.

"Honestly, more than 80 percent of assaults on campus are not stranger assaults; they're usually someone the victim knows," he said. "It's important to be aware of the man in the bushes, but it's also important to be aware of the guy that's giving you your drink."