Stanford University’s Department of Public Safety (DPS) is investigating claims that a woman was dragged to a basement of a campus building and raped on Friday.
The unnamed woman said she was working in her office around 12.30pm when a man entered the room, grabbed her and forced her downstairs to an empty room, where he proceeded to rape her.
Her account of the incident provided little other details other than to say the perpetrator was an ‘adult male’, according to a Stanford University press release published Saturday which said the victim ‘has chosen not to share information about the crime with police.’
The official update said the alleged victim instead filed a complaint with a campus mandatory reporter – individuals affiliated with the university who are available to speak with victims of abuse and are legally obliged to report crimes to authorities.
Stanford University’s Department of Public Safety (DPS) is investigating claims that a woman was dragged to a basement of a campus building and raped on Friday (Stanford University campus pictured)
A general view of Hoover Tower through the arches of the Main Quadrangle on the campus of Stanford University
The Stanford University update on Saturday said that the DPS is ‘actively investigating’ the incident and called on other university members to come forward with any additional information ‘because of the limited information currently available’.
It comes just months after an alarmingly similar incident of rape was reported in a bathroom near to Wilbur Hall, a large student residence complex on campus.
The August victim reported she was grabbed in a parking lot near the student dorms around 5pm on the evening of August 9 and was dragged into a nearby bathroom and raped.
She too chose not to share details of her ordeal with police, instead making a complaint to a mandatory reporter who passed the details on to campus police and the DPS.
An official statement from Stanford Public Safety Director Laura Wilson and Title IX Coordinator Stephen Chen on Saturday acknowledged the worrying nature of the two similar incidents, but insisted neither victim wanted to speak with law enforcement.
‘We know this report was alarming and unsettling, especially coming after a report of a similar nature in August near Wilbur Hall,’ the statement read.
‘Currently, the victim who reported being assaulted yesterday has chosen not to share information about the crime with the police at this time. This also remains the case for the August report, which remains under investigation.’
The latest rape accusation comes just two months after an alarmingly similar incident was reported in a bathroom near to Wilbur Hall, a large student residence complex on campus (pictured)
The August report provided more details – the victim claimed she had seen her alleged attacker on campus before and described him as being 6ft tall and slim, with a beard and brown eyes.
The report did not however specify whether the alleged rapist was a student or member of the university, and it is unknown whether the two incidents are connected.
Stanford University was hit with a major rape scandal in 2015 when student Brock Turner sexually assaulted a 22-year-old after a college frat party in January 2015.
He found her lying near a dumpster and sent a gloating picture of her breasts to his friends before proceeding to rape her.
Prosecutors wanted him jailed for six years, out of a maximum possible 14, but Judge Aaron Persky gave him just six months, meaning he spent just three months behind bars.
Source: | This article originally belongs to Daily Mail
