Police: Sex Assault Near UMD Unrelated to Past Attacks
posted 1:08 am Sat November 22, 2008
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COLLEGE PARK, Md. - A female was sexually assaulted in College Park overnight Thursday and police say they don't believe it is the same man who has been terrorizing the campus for almost two years now.
Police say the latest attack took place in off-campus housing in the 2400 block of Knox Road around 4 a.m. Friday. The suspect allegedly used a chair to reach an unlocked window in an attempt to sexually assault a 19-year-old student.
The student was reportedly walking home from the Santa Fe Cafe which is also on Knox Road; there's a possibility the suspect followed her home at 3:00 a.m.
Julie Levasseur, the victim's neighbor, says this is her first year living in off-campus housing and the attack has her feeling less safe.
"I'm feeling a little uneasy because it was the apartment next to mine and there's been an incident like this a couple weeks ago, and just that fact that the person is still around makes me nervous," said Levasseur.
"It's horrible, it's really scary," said Carly Rubel, another neighbor.
The suspect is described as a white male between the age of 18 and 20 with medium length dark hair. He was wearing a black T-shirt and blue jeans at the time of the incident. Despite the fact the description is similar to that of a suspect in a series of similar attacks dating back to 2007, police don't believe the incidents are related.
"This is the first time we've had a sex assault with an entry into a residence on Route 1, and we're certainly not ruling out
the possibility that the person may have committed other similar crimes, but at the moment...we have not linked him to other sexual assault in downtown College Park," said Major Kevin Davis, Prince George's County Police.
Meanwhile, word of the overnight attack is making its way around campus, and students say they're concerned that no one has been caught.
"Obviously it's a disgusting thing. I don't know who would be even motivated to do something like that. People need to be alert," said Jeremy Weisman, student and victim's neighbor.
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