– One in four college women surveyed are victims of rape or attempted rape
– 27 percent of women whose sexual assault met the legal definition of rape thought of themselves as rape victims
– 85 percent of rapes on campus are acquaintance rapes
– 84 percent of college men who committed rape said what they did was definitely not rape
– 42 percent of college women who are raped tell no one about their assault
– 5 percent of college women who are raped report the rape to the police
– 5 percent of college women who are raped seek help at a rape crisis center
– 75 percent of men were drinking at the time of an acquaintance rape
– 55 percent of women were drinking at the time of the assault
– The risk of rape is four times higher for women aged 16 to 24 than any other age group
-Statistics provided by USM Police Web site
The second sexual assault in less than a week was reported late last week and ended in the arrest of a student living in Dickey Hall.
USM Police arrested Gregory T Filgate, age19, of 416 Dickey Hall in Gorham in the early morning hours on April 20. He is charged with gross sexual assault.
The crime was reported to have happened in Robie Hall. Both Filgate and the victim are students at USM, and know each other.
Bail conditions prohibit Filgate from returning to campus.
The assault was reported at 1:30 a.m. on Saturday, April 20. Because the victim reported the assault quickly the USM Police were able to arrest Filgate in about 15 minutes.
The April 20 assault report comes less than a week after a sexual assault reportedly occurred at an off-campus location on the morning of April 14.
According to Detective Dana Thompson of the Gorham Police, the assault occurred at the Phi Kappa Sigma fraternity house on 27 Preble St. in Gorham.
As in the April 20 incident, the alleged victim and alleged attacker were acquainted with each other.
The Gorham Police Department is still investigating the case.
In response to the recent assaults and with April being Sexual Assault Awareness Month, USM’s Women’s Resource Center issued a statement condemning the acts, but applauding the University’s quick response.
Following both incidents, University safety officials sent out warnings alerting the USM community as to what had happened.
“We as a University need to continue to keep the topic of violence against women and men at the forefront of our discussions,” wrote Mary Kay Kasper, coordinator of the Women’s Resource Center.
She said the Women’s Resource Center is a safe place for anyone to discuss issues related to sexual harassment, sexual assault and domestic violence.
According to USM policy on sexual assault and definitions, sexual assault includes (but does not require) forced sexual penetration. Sexual assault includes acquaintance rape. Sexual assault also occurs when the victim is unconscious or otherwise incapable of resisting and has not consented to the act.
Rape is a form of sexual assault that involves forced sexual intercourse against the will of the victim. Types of force may include physical violence, physical coercion, or threat of physical harm to the victim.
Maine state law has replaced the crime of “rape” with the crime of “gross sexual assault.”
Staff Writer Stuart Koretsky can be contacted at: [email protected]