Possible rape being investigated at UNM

Woman woke up from assault in a ‘compromising position’

University of New Mexico police are investigating a possible rape at a parking structure on campus after a woman reported she had been knocked unconscious and woke up in a “compromising position” last week, said Lt. Tim Stump, a spokesman for UNMPD.

There is no suspect information and officers believe the attack was random, he said.

Shortly after 9:30 p.m. on Nov. 20, the 43-year-old woman told police she was attacked as she was getting out of her truck in the parking structure on Lomas across from the University of New Mexico Hospital, according to a police report.

UNMPD released a heavily redacted police report to the Journal. But due to a “clerical error” they already had released an un-redacted version to the Daily Lobo, Stump said.

The Lobo reported the woman told a security officer she had been knocked out after being struck on the back of the head and woke up on her stomach with her pants around her knees. She had injuries to her head, ribs and pelvis.

After the woman regained consciousness she drove herself to the hospital where her husband met her.

Stump said police redacted information because the attack is still under investigation and they don’t want to compromise interviews with suspects in the future. He said the woman remembers very little about what happened, and police are waiting for the results of an exam to determine if she was raped.

Stump said police have met with the head of security for UNMH, and they are putting 30 more cameras in the parking structure.

A campus-wide alert was sent out a couple hours after the attack saying a female had been assaulted but it did not give any details about the crime.

In April 2016 the Department of Justice announced that a year and a half investigation into the way UNM handles reports of sexual assault and sexual harassment found the university did not comply with federal law. In order to comply with the law the DOJ said UNM must “adequately investigate or respond to all allegations by students who have alleged sexual assault or sexual harassment ... ” as well as several other requirements.

Earlier this year, UNM administrators shared the result of a 3,000-person survey that found nearly one in 10 students said they had been sexually assaulted while at UNM and that nearly one in four reported they had been sexually harassed within the past year.