[media-credit name=’RAY PFEIFFER/Herald photo’ align=’alignright’ width=’336′][/media-credit]A University of Wisconsin student was abducted and sexually assaulted on the 1500 block of Observatory Drive around 8 p.m. Wednesday according to UW Police Department Sgt. Michael Newton.

The victim was an 18-year-old female, Newton said, who was forced into a dark-colored car and taken to an unknown location where she was sexually assaulted.

Newton said the suspect is a black male in his mid-20s with a "chunky build," a thin mustache and a shaved head. The suspect was in possession of a "dark-colored puffy coat," Newton said, and the victim said the suspect smelled of cigarette and marijuana smoke.

According to Director of University Housing Paul Evans, University Housing was notified about the incident when the police spoke to the victim and began to investigate the occurrence Wednesday night. University Housing then sent out an e-mail to students living in the Lakeshore dorms and the surrounding area, notifying them of the abduction.

Evans also said University Housing will not be able to judge whether there was any way this incident could have been prevented until the investigation is complete and UWPD documents a report.

"What we need to do is have [UWPD's] investigation be complete so we have a better idea of exactly what happened," Evans said. "We need to wait for that before we decide what action to take … what gaps were there that could have been taken."

The UW campus is a "pretty safe environment," Evans said, but it is important that students be careful on all areas of campus. The Lakeshore dorms and Elizabeth Waters Hall are less well lit than the Southeast dorms, but there are more people and more traffic on Southeast campus, Evans said.

"I think there are characteristics of each area that present different issues," Evans said. "There are certainly the paths of normal travel that we encourage students to take at night in the Lakeshore area."

Interim Dean of Students Lori Berquam said UW campus safety programs have been going well this semester, but the question of how to make campus safer still needs to be addressed.

Berquam suggested more police patrol and "better lighted areas" as options to consider for campus safety improvement.

Still, Newton said he recalls the Observatory Drive area to be relatively well lit and said there is a blue emergency light near Elizabeth Waters Hall. Newton added it was imperative for students to walk in well-lit paths, walk with friends and keep a cell phone on hand so they can contact police if necessary.

Berquam said this incident may not be explainable and that victims should not be blamed for assault.

"No student should have to go through that; no person should have to go through that," Berquam said. "I think we are led to believe our campus is a very safe place, it's filled with people we know and like … the unfortunate thing is it's also filled with people who don't have the same values."