WASHINGTON - Just back from summer break, Georgetown University students are again confronting news of another disturbing incident: the sexual assault of a young woman by an intruder.

The incident, first reported in the Georgetown Hoya, happened in an off-campus home in the 1200 block of 33rd Street early Sunday morning.

The assault followed a now familiar script: an intruder gets in through an unlocked door, finds a young woman asleep, lies down next to her and assaults her. The victim was not hurt.

"It's really bizarre and it's really scary that it happened here," said one of the women who was in the home at the time of the attack.

The woman says her friend fell asleep on the sofa. Early in the morning she awoke when a man laid down next to here.

Similar incidents have plagued the neighborhood around Georgetown for close to two years.

The assaults vary in severity. A far more serious assault occurred a few blocks away last month..

"I thought it, really thought it was a matter of time," said Georgetown student Alicia Lipscomb. "It's happened everywhere else."

The somewhat frequent nocturnal visits to young women have some incoming students on edge, and frustrated.

"We have curtain rods near our door in case we wake up and somebody is there," said Georgetown student Jean Fundakowski. "This is really unfortunate that it happened before school even started. Kids are just getting back and this is the first e-mail they get." 

This weekend's incident ended the way similar assaults concluded: The victim awoke and confronted the man, who fled.

Police urge all young women in Georgetown to keep their doors locked and windows bolted.

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