University Police said Tuesday that it would increase patrols of the Lakefill as police continue to search for a man who attempted on Monday night to sexually assault a Northwestern student who was jogging.
“We have to recognize that it is not always a safe haven,” said Daniel McAleer, assistant chief of UP. “And we have to keep our guard up.”
UP plans to be more visible around campus and also to create more surveillance, McAleer said. He declined to say how many more officers would patrol or what kind of surveillance work they would do. He also declined to comment how this incident would affect UP patrolling in the long run.
Each year NU evaluates the number of call boxes and lights on campus. This incident may affect their evaluation, McAleer said.
The person responsible for the attack remained at large Tuesday night, police said.
A composite drawing released Tuesday described the attacker as a 5-foot-10-inch black male with a muscular build, short black hair and a thin beard. He is estimated to be 25 to 30 years old and was last seen wearing a gray hooded sweatshirt with shiny black jogging pants.
UP has asked Undergraduate Residential Life to post fliers with the drawing of the suspect and his description.
Evanston Police Department Cmdr. Michael Perry said Evanston police also will distribute the fliers and will be on the lookout for the attacker.
According to Alan Cubbage, vice president for university relations, the woman was jogging alone near the central part of the Lakefill between the Lagoon and Lake Michigan when a man who was standing on the rocks approached her and demanded money.
The woman resisted the man who attempted to rape and rob her, police said. They classified the attack as an aggravated criminal sexual assault.
After she replied by saying she had no money, police said the man pulled her down by the rocks on the edge of the Lakefill, where he attempted to rape her. Police said that the attacker struck the victim in the head and neck with a large rock.
The attacker broke off the attack after he heard voices of people on the Lakefill, police said. The woman was able to break away, and at that point the man fled north.
Four students found the woman and helped her walk toward Norris University Center. They called UP from an emergency call box close to the bridge near Norris.
A UP officer patrolling the Lakefill responded within 30 seconds of the emergency call, Cubbage said.
The woman was treated at Evanston Hospital and released later Monday night, he said.
NU officials emphasized the campus’ strong safety record overall.
“University Police said this morning that there has not been an assault by a stranger out in the open like this for at least 15 years,” Cubbage said.
UP’s Web site lists two reports of “forcible sexual offenses” on Northwestern’s Evanston campus in 2000, one in 1999 and one in 1998. The Web site does not specify whether the victims of those offenses knew their attackers or not.
McAleer said students are advised to use safety precautions already in place such as call boxes, shuttle buses and the Escort Service.
“I hate to see us start compartmentalizing what areas of the campus are safe or not safe,” McAleer said. “The better thing to do is always be on guard whether be it here on campus, traversing downtown Evanston, downtown Chicago or any other area you find yourself.”
