By Kirstin MaguireThe Daily Northwestern
Evanston police are searching for a man who allegedly forced a Northwestern student into her apartment Tuesday night and raped her, said Deputy Chief Joseph Bellino of the Evanston Police Department.
The 22-year-old student was alone at about 11:25 p.m. as she tried to enter the front door of her apartment building on the 1200 block of Simpson Street, only a few blocks from NU's campus, when a man approached her from behind, according to an EPD press release.
The man put his hand across her mouth and pushed her into the entryway of the apartment, Bellino said. He then ordered her to open the door to her apartment.
The attacker threatened to kill the woman if she screamed, Bellino said. He demanded money and walked her through her apartment as he looked for valuables. As they went through the apartment, he stood behind the student so she could not see his face and he also pulled an article of clothing over her face.
The man then took the woman into a bedroom, where he raped her, Bellino said. Before leaving, he tied her hands behind her back with a telephone cord and took her cell phone with him.
The woman then called the police and was taken to Evanston Hospital, where she was treated in the emergency room and released, according to the police statement.
Police said the suspect is described to be of medium build, between 5-feet-4 and 5-feet-6 inches tall and was last seen wearing a black sweatshirt and light-colored pants. The release did not mention whether the attacker was carrying a weapon.
Officers searched the area for the offender and possible witnesses. Crime scene technicians recovered items that could serve as evidence, according to the release.
No additional information or suspects had been found as of 5 p.m. Wednesday, Bellino said. He said the attack was "a very unique incident," citing University Police crime statistics showing only two forcible sexual offenses in 2005 and one in 2004 in the Evanston campus area.
Viewing Comments 1 - 10 of 26
lets not be pc here
posted 5/10/07 @ 12:58 PM EST
Why not include the attacker's race? I know the daily has a policy on this issue, but i have to disagree with it.
armed with this helpful description, ill be on the lookout for any shortish man wearing light colored pants!
if you're going to be that vague on description (like the tribune's story) just dont even bother to tell us how some hazy range of the man's height. (Continued…)
Ryan Wenzel
posted 5/10/07 @ 2:04 PM EST
Revealing the suspect's race without providing specific physical characteristics casts suspicion on every man in that race, which isn't any more helpful than omitting it. (Continued…)
but still
posted 5/10/07 @ 3:08 PM EST
blah blah blah - then dont include a description at all!! the half assed description gives the pretense of being helpful - sharing information when in fact none is shared. (Continued…)
Dan
posted 5/10/07 @ 5:00 PM EST
Why was the fact that this woman was raped not mentioned until the fifth paragraph? More urgently, why is nobody questioning Northwestern officials as to why they chose to use the vague and confusing term "sexual assault," rather than describe the incident as a rape, in the notice of the incident sent to students yesterday?
BRO
posted 5/10/07 @ 5:29 PM EST
1) He was Black. But everyone knew this. The Daily would have mentioned it if he wasn't.
2) "But still" is right...either post all of the information you have received about the attacker's description, or don't post anything at all. (Continued…)
fouroone
posted 5/11/07 @ 12:49 AM EST
A couple things:
There is no such thing as "rape" in Illinois. Criminal Sexual Assault is the crime.
No one seems to be angered at the real problem. (Continued…)
samson
sam
posted 5/11/07 @ 1:28 PM EST
fouroone -
you can't expect the police to be everywhere at once, even at 1125pm. It's likely not too hard to be detected on areas all along Simpson and when you're threatening/preventing the victim from making any sort of alerting noise. (Continued…)
BRO
posted 5/11/07 @ 2:02 PM EST
Ryan,
1) I'd be more willing to go the route of disallowing any description at all than giving some half-assed attempt that a) refuses to include pertinent details and b) insults our intelligence by anticipating that our reactions to factual evidence will be in some way flawed. (Continued…)
Please...
posted 5/11/07 @ 4:04 PM EST
I cannot believe someone is actually claiming that it is "racist" to say the attacker was black. Is it sexism to list him as a male? Is it heightism to list him as 5'4"? A full description of criminals on the loose should always be provided. (Continued…)
James
posted 5/13/07 @ 8:42 PM EST
A couple points.
First of all, we have to recognize that race is an identifier that has unique and emotionally charged dimensions that other identifiers may not have. (Continued…)
Post a Comment