An Ohio State student told police she was raped by a college-aged male near McPherson Lab early Monday night.
At 8:45 p.m., the 20-year-old student was walking to her dorm in Houck House after attending a meeting on campus when a man grabbed her from behind near the south side of McPherson, police say.
The man, described as a 6-foot-tall, white male the age of a college student, assaulted the student and then fled on foot. Police say the man did not have a weapon.
“After a few minutes he just ran away,” said Deputy Chief Richard Morman of the Ohio State University Police Department.
After the assault, the student returned to Houck House and reported the alleged crime to the dorm’s hall director, Liz Smalley, police said. Shortly after 3 a.m., Smalley found an OSU Police officer on a routine patrol in Houck House and notified him of the assault.
Smalley was unavailable to comment.
The alleged victim told police there were no witnesses, but investigators are looking for anyone who was in the area during the time of the assault.
Although police describe the alleged rapist as a man in his early 20s, they couldn’t comment on the possibility that the assaulter is a
student.
As of Tuesday evening, police did not name any suspects in the assault.
Police are asking anyone who has information about the crime to call OSU Police at 614-292-2121.
The Lantern has a policy of not naming victims or alleged victims of sexual assault.
