Student sexually assaulted on campus near Structure 9
By Kylie Reynolds
March 10, 2010 11:23 p.m.
A female student was grabbed in the crotch by a man as she was walking past Structure 9 around 3:45 p.m. on Monday, according to university police.
Following the assault, the man ran northbound toward Ackerman Union. The woman did not report any injuries.
Police were contacted later that day by the ASUCLA Security and Loss Division, which had arrested a man for shoplifting. The man fit the description of the battery suspect, said UCPD Sergeant Paul Stewart.
The man is described as being between 40 and 50 years old, around 5 feet 6 inches tall and Hispanic, according to a police statement. He is a resident of Venice Beach and works in a food-service job on the Hill, Stewart said.
Police are currently interviewing the man, although they have reason to believe he was at work when the assault took place. They plan to further investigate this by contacting the man’s supervisor.
“If they find out he was working at the time of the incident, he will be eliminated as a suspect,” Stewart said.
There are no further leads on possible suspects at this time, Stewart said.
This is the second reported sexual assault or attempted sexual assault to occur in a week, after an attempted assault on Friday, and it is the third to occur during the school year.
Despite the recent cases, sexual assaults are rare on or near the UCLA campus, with only seven reported cases in 2008, police said.
“We have a few every year. We don’t have very many that actually occur on campus ““ they usually happen on the west side,” said UCPD crime analyst Kristi Godines.
In light of the recent incidents, police will continue to make students aware of what is going on through the use of a campus LISTSERV and MyUCLA, which distributes alerts.
Such bulletins also provide students with steps to prevent them from becoming victims, Godines said.
Police will also remain proactive in their patrolling duties. As these assaults are usually random crimes, the best way to stop them from occurring is simply by having a visible police presence on campus, Stewart said.
Police also advise students to be aware of their surroundings and know what people around them are doing to prevent any such opportunities for attacks.
