SDSU Sexual Assaults
Campus police and school officials call the beginning of the school year the “Red Zone,” when incoming freshman are particularly vulnerable to sexual assaults. Here are the number of SDSU students who reported being sexually assaulted in August and September since 2010:
2010: Three
2011: One
2012: Two
2013: Two
2014: Three (Through Sept. 21)
Source: SDSU Police Department
San Diego State University police were continuing to investigate Monday a student’s report that she was sexually assaulted at a campus apartment on Saturday.
She is the third SDSU student to report being sexually assaulted since the fall semester began this month. Police Capt. Josh Mays said the woman knew the man she says assaulted her, and that they had been together during the day. Alcohol also appears to be involved, Mays said.
The woman went to Sharp Grossmont Hospital in La Mesa after she said she was sexually assaulted about 5 p.m. Hospital personnel notified police at 6:05 p.m., Mays said. The woman underwent an exam given to people alleging sexual assault, he said.
Police have interviewed the man who the woman says assaulted her. No arrest has been made, though the investigation is ongoing, Mays said.
Earlier this month, a student reported being attacked by a man who followed her to a Hardy Avenue apartment next to the SDSU campus. No arrest has been made in the case, but police released a photo of the suspect. The same week of that attack, a student said she was sexually assaulted in a bathroom at a party just off campus.
Student Brooke Lowrey told 10News, a KPBS media partner, that she learned about the attacks from campus crime alerts.
"I never like to go out alone," she said. "I never, like, walk back alone. ... I usually walk back with a guy, because two girls is like two victims."
Related: SDSU Beefs Up Sexual Assault Policies; Critics Ask Why It Took So Long
College students are particularly vulnerable to sexual assault during the early part of the fall semester, especially freshmen women who are living away from home for the first time. Campus police and school officials call it the “Red Zone.”
SDSU, along with other college campuses across the country, are giving more attention to the issue this year, including using freshman orientation during the summer to give a presentation on the topic. This follows a state report in June that criticized sexual assault reporting policies and practices at SDSU, UCLA, the University of California Berkeley and Chico State University.
The White House also created a task force this year to combat sexual assaults on campuses.
