UW students rattled as SPD investigate 3 recent rape cases around campus

Last February, a woman said she was raped in her Lander Hall dorm room by a man she met on the Tinder dating app. Days later, on March 6, a woman told police she was forced to the ground at 18th Avenue and 47th Street and raped.

And just last weekend, a woman told police that she was walking alone around 1 a.m. in the University District when a man grabbed her, dragged her into an alley near Roosevelt Way and 42nd Street, and sexually assaulted her. So far, no suspects have been identified in that latest incident. The victim was unable to provide a description, according to detectives.

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For University of Washington students like Cynthia, who lives just blocks from where it happened, the string of assaults puts her on edge.

“It was pretty scary at first. I pass by (the scene) every single day,” she said. “So I have my pepper spray with me and open, ready to fire all the time.”

UW junior Rachel Young said she knows to avoid the Ave (University Way) after dark. She tries to hop on the bus instead of walking in the evening, or walk with a group of friends. But, she worries about her freshman sister.

“Especially at nighttime if she’s somewhere with her friends or I’m somewhere with our friends,” said Young. “Even our mom in eastern Washington will text us and say ‘oh, did you get home okay?'”

Freshman Meaghan Young said she had to get used to looking over her shoulder after moving to the city for school. When she went home for winter break, friends and family noticed a change right away.

“I have, like, a different sense about me that I’m always watching my back and knowing what’s going on. I didn’t realize it was happening,” she said.

Meanwhile, detectives have been talking to people up and down Roosevelt Way and 11th Avenue to try to find anyone who might have seen something the night of the most recent assault. They’re looking for surveillance tape that might identify suspects and collecting and analyzing even the smallest scraps of evidence.

While the recent rash of assaults is shocking, Detective Patrick Michaud says there have been 45 violent crimes in the University District so far in 2016 — one less than this time last year.

“While we don’t have a lot of them [violent crimes], they are definitely one of those that stick with you as a community. And we are trying to find ways to get them even lower. And that’s been a big goal of our department for quite a while now,” said Michaud.

Michaud said worried students can tap resources like Husky Nightwalk. With just a call, students can get an escort around campus, or to Nightride shuttles that ferry them around the neighborhood.

Michaud said, however, the best thing to do at a time like this is to give police a call if you know something. Getting the right tip could help the department find a suspect before they have a chance to victimize someone again.

“Be a good neighbor to each other. We obviously can’t know who everyone is in our big neighborhood that is Seattle,” Michaud said. “But we all know what looks wrong. So if you see something, we really ask you to call 911. Because without you guys calling 911, we don’t necessarily know what’s going on.”