Police at UCLA are warning female students to be extra vigilant after a man tried to rape a woman on campus when she was making a cellphone call outside a residence hall.
The attack follows several other incidents in which female students have been grabbed or accosted. But UCLA police say that the attempted rape does not appear to be related to those recent sexual batteries, based on the victim’s description of the attacker.
The attempted rape occurred about 3:30 a.m. Wednesday when a female student outside the Covel Commons building was grabbed and taken to a more isolated location, the university police department said. The attacker then threw the woman to the ground and straddled her, UCLA police said.
For some reason, the attacker stopped the assault and walked away. The woman was scratched during the attack.
The suspect is described as Latino, 20 to 30 years old, and unshaven. He was wearing a baggy black hoodie and baggy black pants, police said.
On March 26, a sexual battery occurred at Westwood Plaza and Young Drive South about 6:25 p.m. when a female student reported a man grabbed her crotch.
A similar attacked occurred March 8 in the Structure 9 parking garage. The suspect in that attack was described as a 40- to 50-year-old Latino, 5-feet-5 to 5-feet-6 in height.
On March 5, another woman affiliated with the university was knocked to the ground on Hilgard Avenue in an attempted sexual assault. The suspect was described as an Asian man about 25 years old with short black hair, medium build, medium complexion and wearing a white T-shirt, khaki shorts and white sneakers.
Anyone with information on these cases is asked to call detectives at (310) 825-9371.
— Richard Winton
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