Student Sexually Attacked in San Diego City College Stairwell: Police

The victim was attacked in the stairwell of the T Building at San Diego City College on Monday

Authorities are investigating a reported sexual attack on a female student inside the stairwell of a building at San Diego City College (SDCC) by a man she met on a bus hours earlier.

According to Chief of Police Ray Aguirre with the San Diego Community College District Police Department, the assault happened around 2 p.m. Monday. The victim was walking in the stairwell of the T Building on campus when a man in his mid-20s attacked her.

Investigators said the sexual battery suspect is described as approximately 26 years old, with a muscular build, standing at 5-foot-6. He wore a gray shirt with yellow and blue writing on it and blue or black sweat pants. Police said they do not have enough information to release a suspect sketch at this time. The man’s name may be Abraham, according to the victim.

As of 10 a.m. Tuesday, no arrests had been made.

A lieutenant with the campus police department spoke with NBC 7 Tuesday and said the victim somewhat knew her alleged assailant.

The official said the victim initially met the suspect on a city bus in San Diego’s Skyline neighborhood. After riding the bus, the two boarded the trolley into downtown San Diego headed toward San Diego City College.

The lieutenant said the pair were engaged in conversation the entire ride and exchanged phone numbers. They parted ways when the victims went to class, but stayed in contact via phone.

Once the victim got out of class, the suspect met her on campus. The lieutenant said that as the duo walked, the suspect tried making advances on the woman. At that point, the battery occurred.

The official would not go into specifics about the sexual battery and what kind of attack it was.

The investigation is ongoing, but campus police believe this was an isolated incident and do not fear the suspect is targeting other victims. The SDPD Sex Crimes unit is helping with the case.

Anyone with information on this case or similar assaults on or near the college campus should contact City College Police at (619) 388-6405 or the San Diego Police Department at (619) 531-2000. Tips can also be reported to Crime Stoppers at (888) 580-TIPS.

Campus police say students at the campus may request safety escort services 24 hours a day, seven days a week. To arrange an officer escort, students can call College Police at the aforementioned phone number.

Aguirre said there are emergency call boxes installed in many classrooms at the college campus, as well as in elevators and parking lots. Those call boxes are directly linked to the San Diego Community College District Police Department and can be used at any time to report an emergency on campus.

After this incident, campus police said everyone at the college received an email notification warning of what happened and reminding students to walk with others. The alert also reminded students to have the number to campus police programmed in their cell phones.

"It's pretty sad," student Chelsea Sylvester told NBC 7 after hearing of the incident. "I mean, you come to school you want to focus on the criteria that you're here for, and you're not able to because you have all these things on the outside happening, and it's preventing you to really focus, and instead you're focusing on all these bad things that can happen to you."

San Diego City College – a public, two-year community college – is located on 60 acres at 1313 Park Boulevard, less than one mile from the heart of downtown San Diego. According to this map of the campus, the T Building, where the alleged crime occurred, is located near Russ Boulevard.

The college offers 250 majors and certificate programs and 1,500 classes each semester to more than 17,000 students. In 2014, City College celebrated its 100th anniversary. When it was founded in 1914 San Diego Junior College, the campus was the first community college in San Diego and the fifth community college established in California.

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