University police are investigating an alleged on-campus sexual assault, Jason Bone, UPD crime information officer said.
The incident occurred at Leberman Hall, a family housing complex at the intersection of Walnut Street and Avenue A, adjacent to New Pride Apartments. UPD recorded the incident around 11:30 p.m. Friday night, but the exact time the assault occurred was not immediately available, according to Bone.
“At this point, we are conducting an investigation,” Bone said. “We do know the name of one of the suspects and it’s just a matter of time before we find out who the other ones are.”
According to UPD reports, a party involving high consumptions of alcohol was taking place when the 22-year-old female victim went to check her e-mail in a bedroom of the apartment. At that time, three male suspects followed her into the room and proceeded to lock the door. After repeated attempts to open the door by partygoers in the living room, Residence Life was called and then UPD.
The three men fled before UPD officers arrived on the scene. The victim was transported to the hospital for injuries and alcohol poisoning.
“It is interesting to note that 99.9 percent of our sexual assault cases on this campus involve alcohol,” Bone said. “Something is not right with your thought process sometimes when you’ve been drinking.”
Bone said the same statistic holds true for city police when involving sexual assaults among college students.
“Unfortunately these things happen,” Bone said. “We hate to see them happen-we do average about one or two sexual assaults [on campus] a year.”
Sexual assault is a second degree felony punishable up to 20 years of prison time and a fine not to exceed $10,000, Bone said. If convicted, one must register as a sex offender.