Cal Poly University Police Department (UPD) issued a campus advisory this morning concerning three alleged incidents of attempted sexual assault, one of which occurred on campus.
The latest incident occurred last night at approximately 11:40 p.m., when an unaccompanied female was approached by an unidentified male, and knocked to the ground while walking on Slack Street near Longview, according to a San Luis Obispo Police Department (SLOPD) press release. According to the report, the suspect then removed the victim’s underwear, at which point the female kicked at the suspect, forcing him to move backwards. The female was able to run to a friend’s house in the area, where she called the police.
UPD chief Bill Watton said both UPD and SLOPD are looking into the incident, as well as two other similar incidents that have occured since January.
“Basically there’s been three incidents,” Watton said. “Two occurred in the city, and one occurred on campus over in the parking structure by Grand Avenue.”
Though neither department is positive the suspect is the same in all three cases, Watton said it seems the incidents are related.
“They are all similar in nature,” Watton said. “Basically the same M.O. comes up behind and tries to basically take the victim’s underwear, and in the one case they succeeded.”
The suspect in the latest incident is described as a white or hispanic male in his 20s, between 5-feet-6-inches and 5-feet-8-inches tall.
Students are encouraged to walk in groups, especially at night, to prevent similar occurences, Watton said.
“There’s not a lot we can do right now without more information, but we want to make sure all our community, both students and non-students take the proper precautions,” Watton said. “And that’s male as well as females.”
If you have any information on the alleged incidents, or any other that have not been brought to police attention, students are encouraged to call UPD at 756-2281 or email a tip to calpoly@tipnow.org.