A woman was allegedly raped Aug. 5 at 8 a.m. in a Fraser Hall employee lounge.
The woman reported last week that a man touched her through her clothing, but Monday she changed her report to say she had been raped, said University Police Detective Marianne Olson. The victim said she did not know her attacker.
The woman was at the University for a six-week program for people with learning disabilities. As part of that program, she worked in Fraser Hall and was taking a break from work when the alleged rape occurred. The program ended Friday.
Olson said the victim did not report the alleged rape right away because she was afraid.
The victim described the alleged attacker as white, in his 20s, about 5 feet 8 inches tall, and skinny. She also described him as having brown, ear length, wavy hair; thick bushy eyebrows; and blue eyes. She said he was wearing a red shirt and black pants. Police do not have any suspects at this time.
Both Olson and University Police Sgt. Joe May said the case is unusual because the alleged rape was reported as occurring in a public place at 8 a.m., and the woman did not know her attacker. Usually, they said, victims know their attackers, and most rapes happen in private settings during the evening.
May said prior to this incident two cases of sexual assault have been reported on campus so far in 1996, and both have been solved. He said University Police found suspects for all of the sexual assault cases in the last three or four years. After the police find suspects, it is up to the courts to decide what to do with them, May said.
National estimates show that 90 percent of rapes are not reported. Of reported rapes, 40 percent result in arrests and three percent of those arrests result in convictions.