Berkeley police investigating possible sexual assaults at frat houses
BERKELEY, Calif. -- Berkeley police are investigating the sexual assaults of two female students at University of California at Berkeley off-campus fraternity houses over the weekend, CBS San Francisco reports.
Both sexual assaults reportedly occurred at off-campus fraternity houses and the victims were both female students at UC Berkeley.
Police did not immediately reveal the location of either sexual assault and have not yet reported any arrests.
Police said the first assault was on Friday evening.
In that assault, the victim had been attending a social event at a fraternity house. When she awoke the next day, she reported unwanted sexual conduct to police.
The second sexual assault occurred Saturday morning. The victim was also at a social event at fraternity house when she was sexually assaulted by an acquaintance, police said.
Berkeley police is actively investigating both reports of sexual assault and is urging anyone with information about the crimes to contact City of Berkeley Police Department at (510) 981-5900.
UC Berkeley police sent out a message to the campus community Monday evening alerting them to the attacks and added some facts for the community to keep in mind.
Campus police states in the alert, “No action or inaction by a crime survivor makes that person responsible for his or her victimization. Perpetrators are responsible for crimes and their effects.”
The UC Berkeley Police Department also notes that 80 percent of sexual assault and rapes are perpetrated by someone known to the survivor. And that on college campuses, that figure increases to 90 percent.
According to the UC Berkeley Clery Act crime statistics, in 2015 there were 22 reported rapes on-campus or in student housing and four rapes reported off-campus. There were 28 reports of fondling on campus property and four others on off-campus properties.