A student was physically assaulted Saturday in Stadium Village.
The University Police Department sent a crime alert Monday to the community in response.
According to the alert, the incident occurred at about 3 a.m. just south of the Oak Street Southeast and Washington Avenue Southeast intersection.
Steve Johnson, deputy police chief for the University, said the student was walking on the sidewalk when a man came out of an alley area and grabbed her arm, pulling her to the ground and jumping on top of her.
The man then exposed himself and asked her a sexually explicit question, Johnson said.
The woman punched him in the face and ran away, screaming for help.
The man also ran and was last seen near the intersection of Oak Street Southeast and Essex Street Southeast.
The student did not receive medical attention and there are no suspects, Johnson said.
This is the second indecent exposure incident near the University in the past week.
On Feb. 22, at the intersection of 25th Avenue Southeast and University Avenue Southeast, police were called because of a man sitting in a vehicle exposing himself.
According to the report, while police were at the scene, the dispatcher said there were multiple calls about the man.
When officers approached the man, his penis was exposed.
He was booked at Hennepin County Jail and charged with indecent exposure.
Roberta Gibbons, director of the Aurora Center for Advocacy and Education, said it’s not surprising for incidents like these to happen a few times a year.
Many times, Gibbons said, these incidents occur because of mental illness or an individual having a problem with exerting power.
Sage Harvanko, a sociology junior, was also not surprised about the incident because of the time it took place.
Harvanko said she stays safe by walking with friends, especially at night.
Civil engineering junior Nick Olson said crime happens everywhere and the University is a good target.
“(It’s a) location where there’s vulnerable people and lots of people.”
It’s bound to happen, he said.
