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3 recent campus assaults unlinked

By Arek Sarkissian II
Arizona Daily Wildcat
Friday April 4, 2003

Two students were sexually assaulted over the weekend, one in Coronado Residence Hall and the other at a fraternity house.

Also, two students ÷ boyfriend and girlfriend ÷ were assaulted at another fraternity house.

The University of Arizona Police Department kept news of last weekend's string of incidents quiet as the cases are still in the initial phase of investigation.


For more information:

· If you need help dealing with abuse, contact the Oasis Center at 626-2051 Monday through Friday, from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.

· For help 24-hours a day call the Southern Arizona Center For Sexual Assault, 327-7273.

· In any instance of sexual or physical assault contact UAPD at 621-UAPD or 911.


The 18-year-old student in Coronado Residence Hall told officers Sunday afternoon that between the hours of 12:30 a.m. and 2:30 a.m., another student whom she knew sexually assaulted her inside her dorm room, said Cmdr. Kevin Haywood, UAPD spokesman.

Haywood said police have identified the suspect and are completing preliminary investigations before they interview him.

He added that the victim told police she put up a fight, actually throwing him off of her at one point during the assault. She also repeatedly screamed for him to stop, he said.

The other sexual assault, involving a 20-year-old student, occurred at the Alpha Gamma Rho Fraternity, 639 E. University Blvd. The student told police Sunday that she was sexually assaulted during a party Friday night or early Saturday morning by someone whose last name she did not know, Haywood said.

He said the woman and the suspect were playing pool Friday. When she left to go to the bathroom, the suspect followed her upstairs and assaulted her in the bathroom.

The woman told police she only had a vague physical description of the suspect. Haywood said detectives are working with her to generate a composite sketch. He added that the suspect may not be a student or from Tucson.

While Haywood said both incidents involved alcohol, it wasn't a factor.

"In both situations they were coherent. We're focusing on the assault and not the alcohol," he said.

Haywood said police believe no other drug was used during either incident.

The aggravated assault occurred Friday at the Delta Tau Delta Fraternity, 1550 N. Vine Ave. Chapter President Jamie MacGeorge said a 19-year-old student was walking in a hallway when the suspect came around a corner and grabbed her. The student called for her boyfriend, Eddie Betterton, a fraternity member, who then tackled the suspect. MacGeorge said the suspect "went to town on both of them."

Tucson Fire Department was called to the house to treat the couple, but the students asked police not to respond. Paramedics demanded that police secure the scene before they entered the house, Haywood said.

Tucson Fire officials could not be reached for comment.

The two were taken to University Medical Center where the woman was treated for, among other things, a broken hand and a mouth cut. Her boyfriend was also treated for injuries, Haywood said. He added that detectives are working to create a composite sketch of the suspect.

None of the three incidents are related, Haywood said.

Haywood said the sexual assaults were the first of the semester. However, according to Irene Anderson, director of the Oasis Center for Sexual Assault and Relationship Violence, about half of the 200 students, staff and faculty they help every year are victims of sexual assault or abuse.

The two incidents are also much different from last year's string of assaults because the victims in some way knew the suspects.

Anderson said studies have found that 90 percent of all sexual assaults on campus have involved people the victim knew. Also, 95 percent of all sexual assaults on college campuses around the nation involved the victim, the suspect or both being under the influence of alcohol.

Haywood said a major issue regarding the fraternity sexual assault is that the victim waited so long to report it. Anderson said delaying the time or not reporting an incident is very common.

"And it's unfortunately common because there's medical and counseling that can be used," she said.

She added that most victims don't know they have a right to determine how much they want to work with police.

Also, talking about the sexual assault is crucial to bringing closure to the event to alleviate the self-blame and other emotional consequences that normally follow, she said.

Alpha Gamma Rho Chapter President John Weinert said the suspect was probably a friend of a friend. However, he said security during parties at his fraternity is usually tight.

"We normally check to make sure they're on the guest list then check their IDs to make sure it's them," Weinert said.

Mac George said his fraternity is looking to further secure its house, replacing traditional key-lock systems with coded ones and putting springs on doors.

"We're also letting people know that this is just the type of world we live in," he said.

While Coronado Residence Hall Director Becky Selleck declined comment on the matter, resident Joanie Segall said past incidents that occurred earlier in the semester have already made times tense.

"It's already really bad. A friend of mine got attacked across the street," Segall said, pointing across North Euclid Avenue.

Anyone who needs help dealing with an assault or abuse can contact the Oasis Center at 626-2051, Monday through Friday, from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Anyone looking for help, 24-hours a day, can call the Southern Arizona Center For Sexual Assault, 327-7273.

There, victims can receive counseling, medical testing or even contact advocates who will go to the hospital if needed, Anderson said.

Haywood said more information, including composite sketches, would be released during all three ongoing investigations.


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