2 more sexual assaults reported in Penn State’s East Halls
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Two more sexual assaults have been reported in Penn State’s East Halls, where mostly freshmen reside, making them the ninth and 10th incidents there since August.
There have now been 15 forcible sex offenses reported on campus this academic year, meaning East Halls has accounted for two-thirds of those. (Last year, East Halls accounted for four of University Park’s nine sexual assaults.)
According to the university, both sexual assaults were reported Tuesday afternoon — with one incident reportedly taking place earlier Tuesday and the other March 16. Based on timely warnings issued by Penn State, third parties approached university police regarding both sex offenses.
On March 16, a third party reported and the alleged student-victim confirmed, a known male attempted to sexually assault the latter. Between 1 a.m. and 2 a.m. Tuesday, in a separate incident, a third party said they witnessed a sexual assault in a dorm room.
It is not known whether the two incidents may have occurred in the same building or even on the same floor. There was no mention of either in the brief public reports, and a university police spokesperson declined to specify when asked by the CDT.
“In order to protect the privacy of the victims, we cannot provide additional details regarding location of incidents,” spokesperson Jenn Cruden said in a written statement. “However, based on the known information, these are two unrelated incidents.”
According to the timely warnings issued by Penn State, it can be “assumed that conditions continue to exist that may pose a threat to members and guests of the university community.”
University Park provides several resources for sexual assault victims, including medical assistance and emotional support, which can be found on the Title IX page at titleix.psu.edu/resources-penn-state-university-park and also as outlined elsewhere on the university’s website.
