metro
Ann Arbor
Assaults
ANN ARBOR POLICE DEPARTMENT 994-2911
WANTED
Sexual Assault Suspects
CR# 11-4562
CR #11-4508
U-M students remain calm, but vigilant
as police continue search for predators.
Jeff Kranitz
Special to the Jewish News
Ann Arbor
B
efore Summer Krinsky came to
the University of Michigan this
fall, she was already aware that
her incoming class would have a different
kind of freshman experience.
The 18-year-old graduate of Andover
High School received several emails from
the university about a rash of sexual
assaults that took place in July, just a few
blocks from campus.
Summer says that students definitely
acknowledge the threat, but often do so in
a matter-of-fact manner.
"If I go out late at night my roommate
will joke, 'Make sure the rapist doesn't
get you!"' she said. "But, in all actuality,
I think girls are far more on their guard.
Everyone always keeps their pepper spray
on them and tries to walk in groups."
She lightheartedly refers to a male
friend who walks with her when it's late as
her "anti-rape buddy"
While this may seem to undermine a seri-
ous threat, many behavioral experts say it's
a healthy way of not allowing a dangerous
situation to create unnecessary paranoia.
August came and went. The predator
wasn't caught, but thankfully, there were
no other attacks.
"That does not allow
us to drop our guard;'
Ann Arbor Police Chief
Barnett Jones said just
before the start of the
fall semester. "And I
don't want students to
drop their guard also."
Now, campus has
Chief Barnett
sprung into action for
Jones
another school year.
More than 41,000 students have settled in,
and the streets of Ann Arbor are buzzing
with the hurried traffic they create by zig-
zagging back and forth from their various
pursuits.
But just three weeks into the semester
— as the excitement of a promising start
to the football season began to allow some
to forget — a seventh assault took place.
On 7-18-11 at 12:45 am, the victim
was walking in the 700 block of S.
State. She walked between two
adjacent buildings and was
grabbed and sexually assaulted by
the suspect.
Suspect: W/M, 20 yrs, brown hair,
brown eyes, dark hair.
On 7-15-11 at 11:11 pm, the victim
was walking in 400 block of N.
Division, was grabbed from behind
while on her cell phone, and the
suspect attempted to drag her.
Suspect: U/M, 20-30 yrs, 5'6" — 5'7",
175-200 Ibs, black short straight
hair, olive skin, clean shaven.
To Submit a Tip:
Contact the AAPD Tip line at 734-794-6939.
To be eligible to receive the cash reward call:
CRIME STOPPERS —
1.800. PEAK UP
ANONYMOUS TT LINE
CASH REWARDS
housing more student-run programs than
any other group except for the University
Activities Center.
The organization stepped up and met
the threat by introducing several new ini-
tiatives before the start of the year.
"Our staff team and
leadership students were
A Threat Renewed
engaged in an ongoing
The assault occurred Sept. 13, shortly after
conversation throughout
midnight when a 20-year-old woman was
the summer about our
walking a few blocks behind the rows of
responsibility to provide
restaurants and bars on Main Street.
a safe space to our stu-
Police said a male approached her from
dents," said Associate
behind, then grabbed her by the arm and
Tilly Shames
Director Tilly Shames.
waist and began fondling her chest and
"We started the year
Police Sift Clues
groin area.
in
a
proactive
way
with
new safety mea-
Police were looking for at least one sexual
The woman, who is not a U-M student,
sures
for
our
programs
and students. In
predator who struck six times from July 15 was able to fight off her attacker.
addition
to
our
annual
discussion
regard-
to July 26, mostly in the downtown area,
A crime alert issued by Ann Arbor
ing
security
in
the
building
during
our
all between 10 p.m. and 2 a.m.
Police described the suspect as either a
leadership
training,
we
trained
our
lead-
In two cases, both. occurring July 18,
darker-skinned white or Hispanic male,
ers
on
how
to
end
a
program
to
ensure
women were raped. In the other four
unshaven, with a medium build and
that all participants will walk home with
cases, women were grabbed or fondled,
height, wearing a baseball cap pulled
someone.
but managed to break free.
down over lighter-colored hair coming out
Shames says Hillel promotes campus
"The emails included a list of ways to
of the back of the cap.
safety
as a collective responsibility.
stay safe as recommended by the Ann
Police described the assailant in the
"We
want to teach our students the
Arbor Police Department," Summer said.
July cases as having a tan complexion,
value
of
being responsible for one anoth-
"It's a tough situation because there was
standing 5 feet 6 inches to 5 feet 10 inches
er,
not
just
to be safe, but because that is
no guarantee that the rapist would be
tall, in his early 20s with no facial hair. At
who we are as a community"
apprehended regardless of what the uni-
the time of the attacks he was wearing a
Additionally, on Friday nights, U-M
versity did."
black-hooded sweatshirt or jacket, blue-
Hillel
provides a Shabbat Shuttle for
University police worked with the Ann
jeans and black sunglasses.
students
coming from North Campus
Arbor Police Department — and even got
Chief Jones said the Sept. 13 assault
to
eliminate
the wait and the walk from
some help from the FBI — to sift through
could be related to the July incidents, but
the
bus
stop
to their building. Shames
hundreds of tips. Suspect sketches were
added it's too early in the investigation to
said
increased
advertising has led to a
released to the public and the community
determine whether there's a definite link.
tremendous
boost
in the number of stu-
went on high alert. The relative tranquil-
dents who use the shuttle.
ity of summer break was broken as police
Cautious And Smart Response
The university has continued to work
worked hard to apprehend a dangerous
Hillel is the second largest student orga-
with
police to keep students on watch.
predator.
nization at the University of Michigan,
Sketches of the rapist have been posted
38 October 6 - 20B
iN
on all university buses, keeping everyone
around campus on high alert.
Sororities and other student organi-
zations are encouraging women to stay
in groups and take advantage of several
available services — like the free library
taxi after 2 a.m.
The people at U-M's Sexual Assault
Prevention and Awareness Center
(SAPAC) also have done a great deal to
raise awareness and promote safety.
The organization sees about 150 to 200
women annually who are victims of
sexual assault, violence between intimate
partners, sexual harassment and stalk-
ing, director Holly Rider-Milkovich said.
Local police receive about 45 reports of
sexual assaults each year.
Parents seem reasonably assured the
entire Ann Arbor community is doing
all it can to deal with the situation. Still,
until police catch the person or persons
responsible, their worries will remain
heightened.
Back home in Bloomfield Township,
Summer's mom tries to have some sort
of contact with her every night to make
sure she's safe. And despite an 18-year-
old's natural desire to begin establishing
some independence, Summer is happy to
comply.
"I understand her concern to make sure
I'm not out late without people around." II
To learn more about what the U-M
campus is doing to promote a safer
environment in the midst of a string
of sexual assaults, go to umhillel.org ,
sapac.umich.edu or police.umich.edu .