The Ohio University Police Department issued a crime alert Friday after a woman told officers men pushed her to the ground and touched her breasts and buttocks.
According to the crime alert, three men approached the woman in the parking lot by Washington and Jefferson halls at about midnight Thursday before pushing her to the ground and touching her. She was able to escape and fled the area.
The alert states that all three men were taller than the woman who reported the crime, who is
5 feet 4 inches tall. One man reportedly had blond hair and another wore a white sweatshirt.
The incident is classified as gross sexual imposition, a fourth-degree felony punishable by up to 18 months in prison and a maximum fine of $5,000.
The crime alert is the second to be issued about a sex-related crime this semester. It’s also the fifth sex-related crime reported to OUPD this academic year.
On Nov. 1, OUPD officers collected an anonymously submitted sexual assault evidence collection kit from OhioHealth O’Bleness Hospital for an alleged rape.
On Oct. 30, a woman reported that she was raped in Perkins Hall.
On Oct. 22, OUPD issued a crime alert after a woman reported that a man pushed her against a tree, grabbed her breasts over her shirt and “rubbed himself against her,” according to a previous Post report. The incident reportedly occurred near the mulch piles on North McKinley Avenue.
On Oct. 10, OUPD officers collected an anonymously submitted sexual assault evidence collection kit. That incident was classified as rape.
OUPD asks anyone with information related to the Thursday incident to call the department at 740-593-1911. Those who wish to remain anonymous can call Crime Solvers Anonymous at 740-594-3331.
