Hoya Staff Writer Friday, May 19, 2006

A female student was assaulted in her off-campus townhouse last week by an unidentified intruder, who may have been involved in a string of neighborhood assaults on students going back further than two years. The student, who lives in a townhouse on the 3400 block of O Street, said in an interview yesterday that she was awoken by a noise in her bedroom at about 2:15 a.m. on May 7. She discovered an unknown man in her room and tried to get up before he pushed her back onto the bed and began touching her thigh, according to the student and police accounts. After a short struggle, the student bit the intruder on the shoulder and screamed, prompting him to flee the townhouse. She described the man as Hispanic, approximately 5 feet 7 inches tall, between 20-30 years old with a stocky build, short hair and a red T-shirt. THE HOYA does not name the victims of crimes of a sexual nature. David Morrell, vice president for university safety, said that the intruder was likely also responsible for “a significant number” of similar incidents involving students over at least the last two and a half years. “The description provided by this victim is extremely similar. The M.O. is similar,” Morrell said. “I think this is a consistent pattern. He goes months in between his assaults.” Morrell said that the intruder’s ability to evade capture over such a long period of time suggested he knew the area near campus well. “He has done an incredible job mixing in with the student population. He does not stand out, and as soon as he’s discovered, he immediately flees,” Morrell said. “He’s obviously very familiar with the streets and the alleys.” Department of Public Safety Director Darryl Harrison said that the university was coordinating its investigation with the Metropolitan Police Department’s Sex Assault Unit. MPD is currently leading the investigation while Georgetown safety officials look for additional information and tips from students, Harrison said. The student said that she didn’t think her front door was locked when the man entered, and that she thought he ran out through a back door in her basement, which was locked but could easily be opened. She said her roommate came in the front door shortly after the intruder fled, but didn’t see anyone. The student also praised the university’s response to the incident, but said information about the series of recent assaults could have been made more available to students. “I think the school was very good with their support . [but] I think we should have known that there was an intruder in the area,” she said. She criticized PD’s investigation, however, saying police should devote more resources to catching the individual they believe is responsible for the recent assaults. “I don’t see why it’s that hard,” she said. “It seemed like they didn’t care, that it wasn’t on their list of things to do.” MPD Detective Wanda Fields, who led the initial investigation, could not be reached for comment yesterday. Sexual Assault Unit Lt. Joe Trippi said that the department could not comment on any aspect of the case, and that he was not aware of any complaints. In October, a student reported that a stocky male about 5 feet 9 inches tall entered her house in the 1600 block of 35th Street and groped her. About a month earlier, safety officials said a bald male in his 20s entered a townhouse on the 3500 block of O Street and tried to undress a sleeping student. Those incidents prompted new efforts to increase student awareness last fall, including town hall meetings and an enhancement of the SafeRides program. University officials have released information as early as February 2005 about similar incidents, when Kyle Pickering (MSB ’05) said he awoke in his 36th Street townhouse to find a man fitting the description in his bedroom. The man fled as soon as Pickering woke up. Officials said the intruder had not actually touched anyone in the townhouses he entered until the incident last September, when they said he appeared to be getting bolder. Morrell said Wednesday that university administrators have met with MPD twice since the most recent assault, and that DPS had received a tip from a student responding to a campus-wide broadcast e-mail about the incident. Morrell recommended that students always keep their doors locked and that they tell their landlords if they feel their housing is unsafe. The Office of Off-Campus Student Life is also talking to students in the area about locking their doors, he said. “The activities involved here around campus are of grave concern to us,” Morrell said. “Be aware that this individual is active late at night. . He just knows this neighborhood so well.” – HOYA Staff Writer Vidhya urugesan contributed to this report.