Possible Sexual Assault Attempt on UCSB Campus

UCSB police officers are looking into a possible attempted sexual assault that took place near the lagoon on campus around 1:45 a.m. Saturday morning. The attack may have actually been a strong-armed robbery, according to UCSB police spokesperson Sgt. Robert Romero, but that is still unclear, and the investigation is ongoing.

The victim, a female UCSB student, screamed, and nearby students whom she did not know came to her rescue within a minute or two, said Romero. The suspect fled and ran toward Isla Vista. The victim described the suspect as an approximately 5’7″ Hispanic male who appeared to be about 25 years old. He was wearing a gray, hooded UCSB windbreaker and sweatpants. Officers are in the process of looking at nearby video camera footage. “The lighting is decent,” Romero said of the area at the foot of the stairs near the San Rafael dorms. “But it’s not very heavily trafficked at almost one in the morning.”