Two women meandering around the Stanford campus Friday night were groped just 20 minutes apart from each other, according to the university.
The first instance of sexual battery occurred around 10:40 p.m. along the 600 block of Escondido Road, which is located near freshmen dorms and upperclassmen housing, when a woman was inappropriately touched by a man who approached her from behind, according to the university. The male suspect was described as being bald, approximately 5 feet 6 inches tall and wearing a blue jacket and beige pants.
The second assault happened nearby along the 800 block of Escondido Road around 11:00 p.m. when a man groped a woman while she was jogging, according to the university. The victim described the male suspect as being short, bald and wearing a dark track suit. Similar to the first subject described, he also fled east along Escondido Road.
It is unclear at this time if the suspect in both cases was the same man.
Some Stanford students are now on heightened alert after being alerted to the alarming news.
"It was pretty disturbing to hear that it happened so close to where we live especially because I usually walk these streets around that time," Madison Coots said. "I usually feel pretty safe, but now, I sort of have to rethink that."
Fellow student Peter Lu said he changed his Friday night plans after receiving a text message regarding the assaults.
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"I was at a friend's dorm just across this street from where it happened so I just kind of stayed there for awhile," he said. " I wasn't sure what was going on outside.
Public safety officers at Stanford increased patrols around the area in response to the assaults. They also conducted more interviews with witnesses in hopes of identifying and locating the suspect(s).
Both assaults come on the heels of the highly-publicized sexual assault case involving Brock Turner. Last year, the ex-Stanford swimmer was charged with sexually assaulting an unconscious woman and forced to register as a sex offender, but he ended up only serving three months behind bars. That decision sparked waves of protests across the country.
Anyone with information regarding Friday night's assaults is asked to contact the Stanford University Department of Public Safety at 650-329-2413.
