Woman reports man tried to sexually assault her near U-M's Diag
A woman reported a man attempted to sexually assault her as she walked through the arch near the Diag on the University of Michigan’s campus Sunday morning.
Courtesy of U-M Police
U-M Police spokeswoman Diane Brown said the woman was walking from South University Avenue through the arch about 3 a.m. Sunday when a man approached her from behind. Brown said the man pushed the woman and told her to be quiet, while starting to remove her pants.
When other pedestrians arrived in the area, the man fled the area on foot.
Police described the man as black, about 35 years old, thin build, dark complexion, wearing a black baseball cap, blue sweatshirt, jeans and carrying a backpack.
The incident resulted in U-M Police sending out a crime alert at 10:15 a.m. Sunday. It was the seventh crime alert of 2013.
Anyone with information is asked to call U-M Police at (734) 763-1131.
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Kyle Feldscher covers cops and courts for AnnArbor.com. He can be reached at kylefeldscher@annarbor.com or you can follow him on Twitter.
Comments
EyeHeartA2
Mon, Apr 29, 2013 : 4:57 p.m.
NOW what? I post that this March is colder than last under the "I wonder why crime is down" thread and it gets JERKED. Please. Evidently, I needed to spell it out a little clearer (although, by now I thought it was common knowledge) http://weakonomics.com/2009/07/30/why-crime-is-higher-when-its-hot-why-economics-fails-us/
BigMike
Mon, Apr 29, 2013 : 11:42 a.m.
This assault was very unpleasant for the young woman, no doubt, but before we start lamenting the generally dangerous conditions in Ann Arbor, shouldn't we take a look at the statistics? If the Observer stats are accurate, March 2013 was a far safer month than March 2012. The FBI stats show that crime has been on a downward trend across the nation for a decade or so.
Tru2Blu76
Mon, Apr 29, 2013 : 7:49 a.m.
Who's town is this, anyway? "When other pedestrians arrived..." What if they hadn't? "the man fled the area..." What if he hadn't? One question never put to victims is: Would it have helped if you'd been able to defend yourself, by yourself or with the help of others? Or was the "no guns on campus" policy enough to keep you safe? Motive, method and opportunity are the fundamental elements of every crime. When victims are helpless by either random circumstance or by law: there's always opportunity.
ak3647
Tue, Apr 30, 2013 : 7:26 p.m.
Yes, I'm sure this young woman out in downtown Ann Arbor at 3am on a Sunday would have been carrying a firearm if only the University allowed guns on its property. Let me ask you a question: What do people who go out in downtown Ann Arbor on Saturday evenings and stay out until 3AM typically do? If you say "go to the bars", then you'd be correct. Here's another question: is it legal to carry a firearm while intoxicated? But let me guess, you're one of those guys who thinks that laws prohibiting people from carrying guns into bars, or carrying guns while intoxicated, is an infringement on your rights?
WalkingAndTalking
Mon, Apr 29, 2013 : 3:31 a.m.
Find, arrest, try, if guilty convict and sentence to ejection from society. This is NOT acceptable.
tosviol8or
Mon, Apr 29, 2013 : 2:18 a.m.
Crime is an inherent byproduct of vibrant cities. You have to take the bitter with the sweet. Where I live it's really dull--not vibrant at all--but nobody gets attacked while out walking.
tosviol8or
Thu, May 2, 2013 : 12:02 a.m.
I think it's because I make fun of the word "vibrant" all the time. People will drink bilge water and call it champagne as long as you say it's vibrant and sustainable.
JRW
Mon, Apr 29, 2013 : 2:28 p.m.
Why on earth would anyone vote down your comment, tosviol8or? I think there are more and more people on these forums that just vote down everything without reading the comments.
Aaron
Mon, Apr 29, 2013 : 1:42 a.m.
Absolutely disgusting, looks like the city is taking a turn for the worst.
JRW
Mon, Apr 29, 2013 : 12:51 a.m.
Unfortunately, we live in a world where our activities are limited, especially walking around late at night or early in the morning. Walk with a buddy, or take a cab with a friend. Perhaps security cameras should be installed around campus areas such as the arch and diag.
Dirty Mouth
Sun, Apr 28, 2013 : 10:52 p.m.
CCTV cameras in the arch really wouldn't cost that much and seem to be needed now more than ever.
Ricebrnr
Mon, Apr 29, 2013 : 1:08 p.m.
@ Big Mike, In this area alone how many reports of crimes where CCTV captured the event? How many TV shows that aggregate such video? CCTV is a layer of security, and I do not advocate against them necessarily but they are easily defeated and limited. As we all should be aware, criminals fear less the CHANCE of being caught later than knowing full well that their actions might bring IMMEDIATE reprisal. That and in this day and age, CCTV is NO DETERRENT to those on a rampage or terrorist mission. They don't expect to live to be caught and CCTV only serves to immortalize them. Just saying, that we shouldn't think any ONE solution is THE solution.
BigMike
Mon, Apr 29, 2013 : 11:38 a.m.
But, @Ricebrnr, isn't this a perfect scenario for CCTV and follow up? A guy tries to assault somebody, gets his face on camera, and is arrested. Hence, deterrence of future assaults?
Ricebrnr
Mon, Apr 29, 2013 : 12:41 a.m.
As Boston has shown, cameras don't necessarily prevent anything. Strong certain intervention is better deterrence.
Paul
Sun, Apr 28, 2013 : 6:29 p.m.
Wounder if this is related to the Ypsi assault 2 weeks ago..like is it the same dude ? Too bad he got away, yeah the gun folks would be see, if she was carrying, she could had shot him. I'm not for that but would have been nice if he was caught and not still out who knows where ? Folks better be extra careful during the wee hours until he is caught.
OLDTIMER3
Mon, Apr 29, 2013 : 12:04 p.m.
Walking alone at 3 am?It it to approximetly 7 hours for a crime alert to be sent out? The perp could have been in Landing by then.
MathGeek
Sun, Apr 28, 2013 : 4:02 p.m.
Where are all of the comments about how unsafe UofM is, and how 'I'd never send my child there'? First a serial kisser, and now this?! If this was EMU, there would be 50 comments on here about how unsafe campus is, and how Ypsi is full of a bunch of criminals.
EyeHeartA2
Sun, Apr 28, 2013 : 5:29 p.m.
Yep, a horrible thing. Almost as bad as 2 people getting killed in an apartment building right across the street from campus...or killed in a dorm and covered up by the administration. ....but, go on if it makes you feel better.
MathGeek
Sun, Apr 28, 2013 : 5:13 p.m.
Thanks, I think, but I'm well aware of that fact.
Ignatz
Sun, Apr 28, 2013 : 4:38 p.m.
I have news for ya. The world is full of criminals.
trespass
Sun, Apr 28, 2013 : 3:25 p.m.
It will be interesting to see what happens to the Clery statistics for sexual assaults this year. It seems like their have been more reports of sexual assaults since recent reforms have given the campus police somewhat more independence from the Universit administration. I hope that the secret search for a head of the new division of police and security yields a chief with integrity and independence but the secret process for selection of the new chief does not bode well for a good result.