Apr 28, 2008 8:50 pm US/Central
Victim's Friends Talk About Alleged Rape At 'U'
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) ―
-
-
The 18-year-old freshman was visiting friends at Neil Starks' Pioneer Hall dorm room on Saturday night. (File)
CBS
Police spent Monday afternoon interviewing a female student who said was sexually assaulted at a University of Minnesota dorm over the weekend. Police are also looking over more video surveillance tape for clues.
The 18-year-old freshman was visiting friends at Neil Starks' Pioneer Hall dorm room on Saturday night.
"And she said she was going to the bathroom," said Starks, a friend of the victim.
Police say two young men ambushed her on the way to the restrooms at about 1 a.m. Sunday.
"I think she said that she was on her way to the bathroom on the 2nd floor. And they grabbed her on the 3rd floor and brought her in the bathroom up there," said Starks.
"From the way it sounded she did fight them to keep them from doing this to her but they forced her," said Melia Mitchell, a friend of the victim.
"I think she said one of them held her down and the other one did the assaulting," said Starks.
About a half-hour after she left, she returned to Starks' room.
"It was just basically hold her, and let her cry, and tell her it was OK," said Starks.
The victim is now receiving help at the University of Minnesota's Aurora Center for sexual assault counseling.
"In this particular woman, from what I'm hearing, was not in any position at all to expect that she was going to be ganged up on," said Aurora Center Director Jamie Tiedemann. "So it's incredibly frightening and traumatizing."
The assault has the University reassessing dorm security.
"Before the incident, any of these doors you could get into up to 11 with a key," said Mitchell.
Now all but two of the doors at Pioneer Hall remain locked permanently with security guards there 24-7.
"Most students will just let anybody in if they look like they're a student," said Mitchell.
Police aren't sure how the attackers got into Pioneer Hall or if they may live there. In the near future, the U plans to install an alarm system at Pioneer Hall which would sound if the door is propped open.
In the next two years, more security cameras will also be installed in all the dorms.
Anyone with information about the case is asked to call University Police at 612-624-COPS or call an anonymous tip line at 612-626-TIPS.
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
Click to enlarge
Stumble It!
Reporting
