Police at the University of California, Irvine are warning the community as they search for a man suspected of raping a victim on campus late last week.
In a crime alert, UCI Police Chief Liz Griffin said the alleged rape occurred at around 11 p.m. May 16 at Camino del Sol student housing and was reported the following evening.
“The reporting party was walking in the residential community when an unknown suspect forcefully pushed the reporting party on the ground and raped them,” Griffin added.
The suspect was described as a white male adult between the ages of 30 and 40 with a medium build, wearing a dark t-shirt and a navy-blue hat.
The victim also told police that the man was driving a dark-colored Acura.
“Officers canvassed the area when they received the report and did not find the suspect or vehicle,” the alert noted.
Campus officials provided the following safety tips:
- If you are going out alone, make sure that someone knows where you are going, who you will be with, and when you expect to return
- If you start to feel concerns about a person or a situation, trust your feelings and try to remove yourself as quickly as possible from the potential threat, even if it is someone whom you know and even if it feels awkward to do so
- If you think someone is at risk of assault or abuse, you should consider it an emergency and act to support that person
- You can call the police or ask for help from other people, intervene directly if safe, or create a distraction to help remove the potential victim from the situation
- Dial 9-1-1 for emergency or in-progress events. Non-emergency call (949) 824-5223
Anyone with information about the investigation is urged to contact the UCI Police Department at 949-824-5223.
