OCC Students Are Alerted to Fourth Sexual Assault in a Year

Orange Coast College authorities began circulating flyers Monday alerting students to the fourth reported sexual assault since last March.

Officials said a 19-year-old woman was walking alone about 7:30 p.m. Jan. 30 in the fine arts parking lot when a man described as 19 to 21 years old approached her from behind on a mountain bicycle, grabbed her briefly without speaking and rode off.

At the urging of her boyfriend, the woman returned to campus the following day to report the incident to campus security, said John Farmer, director of campus safety.

On Monday morning, campus officials placed flyers on cars and posted signs at campus entrances to let students and faculty know that “we don’t tolerate that type of thing,” Farmer said.

The man on the bike “may not even know that it is a crime,” said Farmer, adding that the incident is punishable by a fine or a jail sentence of up to six months.

Campus officials said they want the latest incident to remind students that they need to be alert when walking on campus at night.

“You are not in a haven here from crime,” Farmer said. “You should be alert. . . . Just be aware of your surroundings.”

Campus officials advised students, especially women, to walk in pairs or use the campus escort service at night.

Authorities say they do not believe that the latest incident is related to three previous sexual assaults.

A 37-year-old Costa Mesa woman was fondled and robbed Oct. 17 by two men, police said. Last April, a woman was grabbed from behind and knocked down in a parking lot at the east end of campus, but the attacker fled when he heard voices. And in March of last year, a man forced a 23-year-old woman student to drive her car from a parking lot at the north end of campus to a market, where he raped her.

No arrests have been made.