Today the San Luis Obispo Police Department released a media announcement that told of two recent assaults on what they describe as "college age women". The assaults, taking place on February 2nd and 3rd, were said to have occurred "in the late night and early morning hours" on two separate blocks of Foothill Blvd.
Although no one was physically harmed, the three girls who were assaulted "were all very traumatized" says SLOPD. Although these events do not occur too often, they certainly occur enough to be an issue. And what seems to be the most prevalent part of each of these recent assaults is that the man being described is similar across the board. The suspect is described as "19-20 years old, wearing dark clothing, and about 6 feet tall. Is it possible that this could be the same person, repeat-offending?
SLOPD says, "In March and April of 2012 two similar assaults occurred in the area of Slack and Hathway [two streets near Cal Poly known to be large party areas] near the Cal Poly Campus. An additional assault occurred on the Cal Poly campus and was investigated by the Cal Poly Police Department. The suspect in those assaults was also described with a similar physical appearance. It is unknown at this time if same suspect is responsible for all these sexual assaults."
As unfortunate as it is, these crimes against the young women occurred in an area in which they probably assumed they were safe. Nevertheless, programs like Safer (an on-campus program committed to working towards ending Sexual Assault and supporting victims in the process) are working hard to help people such as these young women. Their page on Cal Poly's Student Life and Leadership site even has a sub-page that allows people to Report an Incident.
San Luis Obispo Police Department asks that if any information is available, to please come forth with it. The also recommend "that people out late should stay in groups and walk in well-lit areas."
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