The Ohio University Police Department received its first report of rape for Fall Semester on Monday evening.
Officers responded to OhioHealth O’Bleness Hospital at about 10 p.m. to collect an anonymously submitted sexual assault evidence collection kit.
As of this date last year, the department had fielded four reports of rape and seven total reports of sex-related crimes. The Monday report of rape is the first sex-related crime report so far this academic year.
According to the latest data released in the university’s annual security report, rape reports have been on the rise over the past three years, with a 60 percent increase from 2015 to 2016.
In 2016, the department received 32 reports of rape on campus. It received 20 in 2015.
