While last month’s brutal sexual assault on the Capital City Bike Path still weighs somberly on the minds of Madison residents, spirits lifted recently after substantial community efforts to raise funds for the victim produced a sum of $33,000.

Online donors raised the bulk of the money through a GoFundMe.com campaign started by University of Wisconsin biochemistry professor Julie Mitchell. Many of the donations came from UW faculty members personally impacted by the assault of the victim, who is a graduate student at UW, Mitchell said.

“There’s really been an amazing outpouring by the community,” Mitchell said. “Initially, I thought maybe we could raise between $5,000 and $15,000.”

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In addition to the UW donations, the Marquette Neighborhood Association and the High Noon Saloon also contributed funds, Mitchell said.

Mitchell said she was immediately compelled to do something to help the victim after she heard of the crime.

“I had a strong emotional need to do something to help her right in that moment,” Mitchell said. “I had this vision of some woman somewhere lying in the hospital, wondering how she’s going to pay for all of this on top of everything else she would be dealing with; that motivated me to act.”

While the victim will ultimately choose how she wishes to spend the sum, the funds will likely go toward hospital bills and therapy, Mitchell said. Some of the money has already been spent to replace the victim’s eyeglasses, which were broken during the attack, Mitchell said.

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While the suspect is still at large, MPD detectives have received and are investigating new leads and are optimistic they will find the perpetrator, Madison Police Department spokesperson Joel DeSpain said.

“New leads come in, and our detectives either pursue those leads until they reach a dead end or they keep going,” DeSpain said. “We’re optimistic that we’re going to make an arrest and we have some very dedicated people working on the case right now.”

The victim has largely recovered from her physical injuries and has been released from the hospital, but the emotional injuries she has sustained could be with her for a lifetime, DeSpain said.

In light of the success of the fundraising campaign, Mitchell said she hopes those considering donating to her campaign will also consider donating to the Dane County Rape Crisis Center and/or the Wisconsin Coalition Against Sexual Assault to help other victims of sexual assault.  

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“There are other victims who also need help in our community,” Mitchell said. “More than 27 percent of female students on our campus have been sexually assaulted, and the organizations that provide these victims with counseling and emotional support need donations as well.”