IUPD investigating reported date rape

IU Police Department is investigating a report of rape in Forest Quad last week. A female IU student told police she was raped by someone she knew Sept. 11.\nShe reported the crime to police Sunday. \n"It was acquaintance rape," Detective Tim Lewis said. "The person was known to the victim, and we're still investigating."\nPolice said the rape occurred in the victim's room on the afternoon of Sept. 11. Police have made no arrests, but since the victim did know her attacker, the police do have a suspect. Lewis warns about the dangers of acquaintance rape.\n"Not being specific to this case, but obviously in a lot of cases, alcohol is involved," Lewis said. "Usually with acquaintance rapes, the victim has been somewhere with the person beforehand, or she knows the person and lets him in the room."\nToby Strout, executive director of the Middle Way House, a domestic violence shelter and rape crisis center, agrees and points out that students should be aware of the prevalence of acquaintance rape as compared to rapes where the victim does not know her attacker.\n"The national average on rapes is between 75 and 90 percent of people who know the victim in some degree," Strout said.\nAccording to the Middle Way House, a woman is raped every 41 seconds in the U.S. It is estimated that two in four women will be sexually assaulted in their lifetime; one in four will be raped. \nThe Middle Way House offers rape counseling as well as on-scene advocates to travel to hospitals and offer support to rape victims when they come in for an exam. Middle Way stresses the importance for victims to go to the hospital after an attack so that an exam can be done for both physical harm to the victim and forensic evidence to be used if charges are ever filed. In the instance of acquaintance rape, Strout offers a few tips and encourages females to follow their instincts.\n"If you go to a party with a friend, have an understanding that you leave together as well. Try not to be alone in a place with someone," Strout said. "Trust your gut. So many times we have a feeling that something's not right, but we're conditioned to ignore it. Many times we ignore it to our own detriment. Date rapists proceed in small steps. If they do something to make you feel uncomfortable and they get away with it, they escalate."\nMiddle Way House has a 24-hour crisis hotline. The number to that hotline is 336-0846.