COLUMBUS, Ohio (WSYX/WTTE) — Columbus Police are investigating a pair of sexual assaults hours apart off the Ohio State campus.
According to a neighborhood crime alert sent to students, the first incident reported at 4:30 Sunday morning. A woman said she was sleeping in her car behind a home on East 16th Avenue when a man jumped inside, made sexual advances and demanded she take off her shirt. The suspect allegedly touched the woman’s legs and then ran after she got out the car.
At 9:30, a second woman says she was walking her dog in an alley between East 11th and Chittenden Avenue when a man came up from behind and groped her lower body. The woman reportedly yelled and the suspect ran away.
“When you have two in about a five hour period in a campus area, potentially by the same suspect it becomes even that much more concerning just because you wonder what they’re going to elevate to next?” said Commander Robert Sagle of Columbus Division of Police.
The reported incidents rattle student Laques Harrison, “That could’ve easily been me. I’m happy it wasn’t but it definitely made me a little bit more aware of my surrounding I guess.”
Self-defense instructor Rob Fletcher said awareness is one part to staying safe, “Using your eyes, your nose and your ears. That’s complete situational awareness, so that’s really your best self-defense. Paying attention to what’s happening around you.”
Authorities are preaching vigilance as fall classes at Ohio State start August 20th.