Police: Woman sexually assaulted in Pitt's Cathedral of Learning
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) - University of Pittsburgh police are looking for a man suspected of sexually assaulting a student inside the Cathedral of Learning on Monday.
In a crime alert Thursday, police said they were notified of the assault on Wednesday.
Police said the suspect approached the victim, pushed her against a wall and sexually assaulted her.
The suspect then ran in an unknown direction, police said. He was described as a man who looks college-aged and was wearing a black backpack.
KDKA's Meghan Schiller talked to students right after the latest crime alert hit their inboxes.
"You really wouldn't think it would happen in your own campus so that's really crazy and scary to think about, I feel really bad," said Pitt student Jaidyn Jiles.
"I mean, the fact that it can happen in one of the main buildings means it can happen even more likely anywhere else," said student Conor Hutchinson.
It's the third sexual assault reported by Pitt police since the semester started. Jiles lives in the dorm where the last one allegedly happened.
"Me and my friends always walk in groups, even during the day, we don't go off by ourselves when we get on buses," Jiles said. "So just staying with your group of friends and my roommate has my location and I have hers."
Hutchison thinks it's easier to be a guy on campus, saying he usually doesn't fear for his safety while walking alone, but he feels for his female friends.
"And we're not even two months into the semester so it's horrible to hear in such a short time," he said.
The descriptions have all been different in the three sexual assault cases, so they aren't connected in any way.
Police said students can expect an increased police presence for the foreseeable future both in and around the building.
Police also reminded students to report suspicious people, pay attention to their surroundings, walk with friends at night and always keep a charged cell phone with them.
Investigators ask anyone with information to call 412-624-2121 and reference #22-02874.
