A sexual assault allegedly occurred between Jan. 22 and Jan. 24 in a UW-Madison residence hall.
The victim reported being at the Red Shed bar and talking to an unidentified man. She took two sips of a drink before she began to feel “dizzy, hazy, and uncomfortable,” according to a UW-Madison crime warning.
The unknown man walked her home, where she passed out. She reported that she woke up as she was being sexually assaulted.
UWPD learned about the reported sexual assault on Friday but, as the alleged crime was not disclosed to any law enforcement agency, no criminal investigations are ongoing.
“She chose to tell another person who happens to be a campus security authority,” said UWPD Public Information Officer Marc Lovicott. “By obligation, by law, that campus security authority does have to file a report with the University to disclose this information.”
The victim reported the sexual assault to campus security authority Friday, a day after a bill unanimously passed an Assembly committee that would eliminate underage drinking tickets for victims and witnesses of sexual assaults. UWPD has had the Responsible Actions Guidelines for five years, which already enforces on campus what the bill is proposing.
Lovicott hopes the bill will remove the barrier of underage drinking for sexual assault victims choosing to report the crime.
“The bill that is going to the Legislature right now we think and we hope will remove one barrier of individuals deciding not to come forward,” Lovicott said. “There are many reasons why someone might decide not to report. And this could be one of them that this bill addresses.”
