Mustang Daily Staff Report
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The victim of an alleged attack on campus Monday night is choosing not to speak with police, according to University Police Department (UPD) Chief George Hughes, making it “very unlikely” officers will be able to identify a suspect.
A female student was walking alone on North Perimeter Road near Grand Avenue when the attack occurred just before 9 p.m., Hughes said Tuesday. According to a crime report issued Monday night, a college-aged male pulled her from behind into a group of bushes. She was able to fight the man and escape.
Cal Poly’s campus received a PolyAlert emergency text message and email alert near midnight, more than an hour after police learned about the incident. Hughes said he wanted to verify the report as best as possible before sending out the alert.
“The reason there was a delay in this was because we were trying to validate the complaint,” he said. “We were trying to make sure it was a credible threat to the campus community. That’s one of our responsibilities.”
UPD learned about the attack from one of the victim’s friends. Hughes said it will be more difficult for his officers to find the man responsible for the attack, partly because of the lack of information provided by the victim. If police do find him, Hughes said the victim would need to come forward before charges could be filed.
The alleged attacker was last seen running away from the victim near Sequoia Hall, Hughes said. He is not sure if the individual represents an ongoing threat to the Cal Poly campus, but noted university police have not received any similar reports recently.
“It’s a traumatic event this person has just gone through and sometimes people don’t want to talk to the police,” he said. “I support whatever a victim wants to do, as long as they talk to someone.”
Cal Poly’s University Housing staff is offering support to the victim, Hughes said.
Students often travel the area where the attack allegedly occurred, Hughes said. Though there are no cameras there, the police chief said he was hopeful someone saw something and will tell police.
The crime alert posted Monday night advises students to travel in well-lit areas in groups and to report suspicious activity to university police.
Sean McMinn contributed to this report.