UBC students on alert after campus sex assault

Since they were warned about a string of “prowler events” that may be linked to a recent sex assault at the University of B.C., roommates Beryl Peng and Sophie Qing have been taking extra precautions to protect their safety.

“We go to the showers together now,” Qing said on Sunday.

“Because we are afraid,” Peng added.

Just two days earlier, a 20-year-old student was attacked on campus in the 3200 block of Wesbrook Mall. Mounties say she was approached from behind by a stranger, who emerged suddenly from a wooden area at about 10 p.m.

The man grabbed the young woman and violently shook her with both arms, forcing her to the ground face first, according to RCMP.

Investigators believe the assault may be linked to a series of five incidents reported since last Wednesday involving an unknown man in the women’s residences at Place Vanier and Totem Park. The man, who fits the same description as the suspect in the sex assault, has been seen lurking around the women’s showers and rooms, and has fled when the residents noticed him.

Peng and Qing live in Place Vanier, but they only learned of the prowler Saturday, when UBC’s vice president of students Louise Cowin sent out a campus safety alert.

“I think that before we felt like it’s safe (here) … but then we heard it’s happening in the residences, in the building, so maybe it’s less safe than before,” Peng said.

Students have noticed an increased police and security presence on campus in recent days, but point out fears about attacks on young women are nothing new at UBC.

“I don’t like walking around by myself at night,” Place Vanier resident Riley Davies said.

“It has been a thing that we’ve known about since we got here, that there’s a high sexual assault rate.”

Another student, Luisa D.G., said while UBC officials seem to be doing what they can to protect students, it’s maddening to feel so unsafe.

“It’s just frustrating, because we do feel afraid sometimes to go out.”

According to campus security data, there were seven on-campus sexual assaults reported in 2015, although reporting rates for this particular crime are notoriously low.

RCMP ask anyone with information about the prowling incidents or the sex assault on Friday to call 604224-1322 or report through Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS.

The suspect in the sex assault is described as a darker-skinned man in his mid to late 20s who smells of tobacco. He’s said to be about 5-foot-10 with a slender build, and was wearing dark coloured clothing, possibly including a hoodie.