Stanford University Police Seek Assailant

Stanford University police are advising students on how to stay safe after a woman was sexually assaulted while sleeping in an on-campus residence over the weekend.

The assault happened at about 9:40 p.m. Saturday in Escondido Village, police said.

The victim, a graduate student, awoke to find a man assaulting her. She screamed and fought him, and he eventually fled from the home, police said.

He is described as possibly black, about 30 years old and 5 feet 6 inches tall. Stanford Department of Public Safety spokesman Bill Larson said police are working on putting together a sketch of the suspect, but that it was dark in the room, so the victim didn't get a good look at her attacker. 

Larson said it does not appear that this weekend's assault is related to an incident on April 1 in which a female resident interrupted a stranger who was trying to enter her Rosse Lane apartment through a living room window at about 2:30 a.m.

He fled after the resident spotted him and was last seen heading toward Running Farm Lane with four other males.

The suspect in that case is described as a white male between 16 and 22 with a thin build and long, bushy brown hair. He was wearing red basketball shorts, a dark T-shirt and a baseball cap.

Police are urging students to walk in pairs, carry cellphones, stick to well-traveled paths and be aware of the locations of the blue emergency phones.

Investigators are still trying to determine how the suspect in Saturday's attack entered the apartment, but students are advised to lock their doors and windows.

Anyone with more information on either crime is asked to contact the Stanford Department of Public Safety at (650) 329-2413.

--Bay City News