Police
Offer Reward for Perpetrator of Assault
by Tobias Smith
This
week, the Oberlin Police Department released a composite printout
of a man believed to be an assailant in a robbery and sexual assault
that occurred last semester. In addition to the composite, the Lorain
County Prosecutors Office has offered a $5,000 reward for
information leading to the arrest of the perpetrators.
The victim, a male Oberlin College student whose name has not been
released, was robbed and assaulted by two men while walking through
Tappan Square at approximately 3 a.m. on Oct. 14. The assailants
apparently ran away but saw the victim get up, at which point one
assailant returned and sexually assaulted the victim.
The victim, who sustained facial injuries, called Safety and Security
and was taken to Allen Medical center when the Oberlin Police Department
was called. Safety and Security quickly posted a Special Alert,
though the sexual assault was not mentioned. We did put out
a campus bulletin. However, the police asked us not to reveal the
sexual nature of the crime because, at the time, they believed it
would compromise the nature of the investigation. As we do in most
cases, we cooperated with the police, Dean of Students Peter
Goldsmith said.
The release of this picture, taken from a description given by the
victim, comes almost four months after the incident. We do
something like [releasing a composite picture] when we are not able
to determine any suspects; when we are stuck, Police Chief
Michael Moorman said.
Many students were surprised to see a composite police sketch. I
thought they only put stuff like this up in post offices,
first-year Zach Webber said.
Safety and Security has not made any major policy changes because
of this incident, though they have increased patrol around Tappan
Square and near the Pagoda, where the incident occurred. We
are continuing to do routine duties because we have very little
information about the case itself. We have a crime prevention program
in which each officer is assigned a dormitory. The officer has meetings
with students targeted at hyping student awareness, Director
of Safety and Security Robert Jones said.
Last semesters discourse on sexual assault largely focused
around student on student rape, student drinking and the campus
alcohol and consent policies. I dont think that anyone
is suggesting the alcohol is largely to blame for sexual assault,
it is a factor. We were referring to sexual encounters between students.
Alcohol can be a source of miscommuncation in those encounters,
it clouds communication but this was a very different situation
than the other reports we encountered this fall. Indeed an assault
happened that appears to have been perpetrated by a stranger, someone
unconnected to the college, Goldsmith said.
Another major concern on campus has been the relatively high rate
of unenrollment among sexual assault victims at Oberlin. It is unknown
whether the survivor in this case has returned to Oberlin for Spring
semester.
This incident is one of three reports of sexual assault the College
has received so far this school year.
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