October 7, 2009 in City

Police investigating reported rape on GU campus

By The Spokesman-Review
 
Tags:AssaultcrimeGonzaga Universityrape
Gonzaga has a sexual assault response team to help crime victims and a system for providing rides and escorts 24 hours a day. Students should call campus security dispatch at 313-2222 and ask for a team member. Security escorts are also available at that number. A sexual assault and family trauma program off-campus is available at a 24-hour crisis line at 624-7273. A safe-ride program is available to transport students back to campus from an off-campus location. Call 568-8000.

Spokane police said today they are investigating a complaint by a Gonzaga University student that she was raped in a residence hall room at the university over the weekend.

It is the second report of sexual assault over the past three weeks at GU.

The student in the latest report told campus officials the incident took place in a friend’s room during the early hours on Sunday, and that she may have been drugged, campus officials said in a security alert sent by e-mail to students and staff on Monday.

Police Lt. Dave McGovern said the case has been assigned to a detective who will talk to the woman again to see if she can recall anything more.

“She doesn’t remember too much of what happened,” he said.

The woman, an 18-year-old freshman, told police she was at a party drinking from a shared glass and woke up in her dorm room, McGovern said.

Someone in the dorm described a possible suspect as a white man, age 17 to 25, 6-foot-1 and 175 pounds with brown hair.

On Sept. 19, another student reported being sexually assaulted near the 200 block of West Cataldo Avenue around midnight. The student sought medical care and was advised that she had the option of reporting the incident to police, campus officials said in another e-mail alert.

Police said the woman declined to file a report.

Campus officials said the victim described the suspect as 18 to 22 years old, average height and build and possibly a student.

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