Third Sexual Assault Reported In Boulder
Police Hope To Extract DNA Information From Baseball Caps
POSTED: 6:37 a.m. MDT April 29, 2003
UPDATED: 7:36 a.m. MDT April 29, 2003
BOULDER, Colo. -- A man tried to sexually assault an 18-year-old University of Colorado student behind a popular bar near the campus, the third such assault in eight days, Boulder police said.
The woman was walking alone in a lighted alley when she was attacked behind The Sink at 13th Street and Pennsylvania Avenue around 12:30 a.m. on Sunday, police said.
She kicked her assailant in the groin, blew a whistle and fled, police Sgt. Jim Byfield said.
The attacker was described as short with a thin build, wearing khaki pants and a black shirt.
Although this is the third sexual assault reported, police are unclear if this third case is linked to the other two recent attacks in Boulder.
On April 26, a 26-year-old woman was sexually assaulted near a path along Boulder Creek and on April 20, another student was attacked while walking near the library on the CU campus.
Both of those sexual assaults involved two men, described as white and college-age and shorter than 5 feet 6 inches tall, but the recent sexual assault involved only one suspect.
In the on-campus sexual assault, the victim said one man stood guard while the other assaulted her. Using the victim's description of the suspect, police released a computer composite of him (pictured, above).
For the assault on the Boulder Creek Path, police had a better lead. Two baseball caps inadvertently left behind at the scene were turned over to the Colorado Bureau of Investigations for testing.
One cap has an "A" on the bill and the top. The other cap is blue and orange with a Miami Dolphins emblem. Investigators hope that they would be able extract sweat, hair or salt deposits from the skin to develop a DNA profile of the suspects.
It's a technique that has led to arrests before, notably the arrest of serial rapist Troy Graves, who was linked by DNA taken from his baseball cap to rapes in Fort Collins, Colo., and Philadephia.
The recent sexual assaults have touched off fear on campus, especially for women who tend to stay late studying for upcoming finals.
Police say they are increasing patrols on campus and near the Boulder Creek Path in an effort to stave off additional rapes.
The woman was walking alone in a lighted alley when she was attacked behind The Sink at 13th Street and Pennsylvania Avenue around 12:30 a.m. on Sunday, police said.
She kicked her assailant in the groin, blew a whistle and fled, police Sgt. Jim Byfield said.
The attacker was described as short with a thin build, wearing khaki pants and a black shirt.
Although this is the third sexual assault reported, police are unclear if this third case is linked to the other two recent attacks in Boulder.
On April 26, a 26-year-old woman was sexually assaulted near a path along Boulder Creek and on April 20, another student was attacked while walking near the library on the CU campus.
Both of those sexual assaults involved two men, described as white and college-age and shorter than 5 feet 6 inches tall, but the recent sexual assault involved only one suspect.
In the on-campus sexual assault, the victim said one man stood guard while the other assaulted her. Using the victim's description of the suspect, police released a computer composite of him (pictured, above).
For the assault on the Boulder Creek Path, police had a better lead. Two baseball caps inadvertently left behind at the scene were turned over to the Colorado Bureau of Investigations for testing.
One cap has an "A" on the bill and the top. The other cap is blue and orange with a Miami Dolphins emblem. Investigators hope that they would be able extract sweat, hair or salt deposits from the skin to develop a DNA profile of the suspects.
It's a technique that has led to arrests before, notably the arrest of serial rapist Troy Graves, who was linked by DNA taken from his baseball cap to rapes in Fort Collins, Colo., and Philadephia.
The recent sexual assaults have touched off fear on campus, especially for women who tend to stay late studying for upcoming finals.
Police say they are increasing patrols on campus and near the Boulder Creek Path in an effort to stave off additional rapes.
Previous Stories:
- April 28, 2003: Boulder Warning Students About Brazen Rapists
- April 26, 2003: Sexual Assault On Boulder Creek Path Interrupted
- April 25, 2003: CU Rape Suspect Sketch Released
Copyright 2003 by TheDenverChannel.com. The Associated Press contributed to this report. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
