Police looking for man who tried to rape ASU student

Student, 19, reports man attempted to sexually assault her Saturday morning

 by Matt Culbertson
 published on Monday, March 24, 2008

Tempe Police are looking for a man that they say attempted to rape a 19-year-old female ASU student early Saturday morning.

The student woke up at 3:08 a.m. to find a man on top her in her apartment on the 1100 block of East Apache Boulevard, said Tempe Police Sgt. Cindy Davies. Tempe Police released a media advisory about the incident Monday evening.

The student was able to push the suspect off of her, flee the apartment and locate a security guard in the area, Davies said. No sexual assault occurred, she added.

Tempe police searched the apartment and surrounding area but did not find the suspect, Davies said.

She added that there was no indication the suspect forced his way into the apartment, and no one else was inside the apartment at the time.

A subject description was unavailable, but the incident may be connected to other sexual assaults that have occurred this semester, Davies said.

"We're looking into that possibility," she said. "We felt it was important to get this information out to the community."

On Feb. 7, a 19-year-old ASU student fought off an assailant who tried to sexually assault her in the Gateway at Tempe apartment complex on the 1600 block of East University Drive, police said.

Police also reported a Feb. 24 incident in the same complex in which a 20-year-old female ASU student was held down by three men while another man raped her.

Anyone with additional information on the incidents is urged to call the Tempe Police department at 480-350-8311.

Reach the reporter at: matt.culbertson@asu.edu.