Two University students were victims of attempted sexual assault in two separate incidents reported early Monday morning. Charlottesville Police suspect the crimes were committed by the same attacker.
According to the police report, the first incident occurred around 12:30 a.m. when a 21-year-old female student was walking home alone to her apartment in the 1200 block of Wertland Street.
According to the report, "as she was opening her apartment door, a man grabbed her in a sexual manner and tried to force his way inside."
The victim screamed and the attacker fled with her roommate's boyfriend in pursuit. He was not able to catch the assailant.
The report described the attacker as a white male in his mid- to late 20s with short, dark hair.
The second incident was reported by a 28-year-old female University Law student. She was passing by Mellow Mushroom at 2:30 a.m. when a male suggested that it was too cold for her to be walking home alone, according to the report. When he offered her a ride, she agreed to follow him to his car.
As they approached 13th Street, she decided she did not want a ride and began to walk back towards University Avenue. At that point, "the man grabbed her and forced her up against a vehicle, fondling her in a sexual manner," according to the report.
She fought back, managed to free herself and ran away; after returning home, she called the police. In the report, the victim described her assailant as a white male in his early 30s, about 6 feet tall, clean shaven and of a medium build.
The victim was taken to the University Hospital and was later released.
Captain Chip Harding of the Charlottesville Police Department said he believes that the students were assaulted by the same man.
"Charlottesville is a small town," he said. "The probability of having this [two incidents with two separate attackers] in the same night only a football field and two hours apart is highly unlikely."
Harding firmly encouraged a high level of awareness among students, suggesting that they "use extreme vigilance with a guy like this. Tomorrow night he could have a knife or gun."
Captain Michael Coleman of the University Police echoed this advice.
"Folks should not walk alone at night," he said. "They should travel in groups. It's important to report anything suspicious and to report it to us immediately."
Anyone who was at the Corner last night and witnessed something suspicious is encouraged to call Crime Stoppers at (434)-977-4000.
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