A female University student was assaulted inside her Quadrangle dormitory room early Saturday morning.
Jacob Leslie Dallas, a 30-year-old male, has been arrested in connection with the incident. Police said Dallas attempted to sexually assault the student after gaining unauthorized access to the Quad.
At about 3:30 a.m., according to police, Dallas reportedly snuck into the Quad with a large group of students, going unnoticed by the Spectaguard on duty.
He then reportedly wandered around the Quad, where other students observed him, before entering a student's unlocked dormitory room.
According to police, he chose the woman's room randomly.
"He was purely looking for a crime opportunity," Vice President for Public Safety Maureen Rush said.
Police said he entered the dormitory room, where he attempted to sexually assault the female student before fleeing the area.
A source close to the victim said that the man entered the student's room, removed his pants and attempted to get into the bed where the woman was sleeping. The source said the victim then woke up and screamed, and the man fled.
According to police, the department was alerted to an intruder's presence in the Quad by a phone call from a woman who observed him and found his behavior suspicious. A security guard who was in the Quad heard the call and was the first to arrive on the scene.
Dallas reportedly tried to leave the Quad through the 37th Street entrance where he came in, and when Penn Police arrived at the Quad, a security officer was attempting to restrain the man outside the entrance.
However, before police apprehended him, he was able to free himself. Dallas then reportedly ran down into the subway and fled westbound into the tunnel. Police pursued him on foot and he was apprehended at 3:44 a.m. outside the SEPTA station on 40th Street and Baltimore Avenue.
Dallas was inside the Quad for eight minutes, according to police.
The victim was evaluated by medical personnel at an area hospital, but was soon released.
Rush said the victim was not taken to the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, but she did not further specify which hospital she was taken to.
The University is providing additional support to the woman.
"The University is supporting the victim with Special Services and through the resource centers, especially the Penn Women's Center," Rush said.
A friend of the victim who also lives in the Quad, said she is concerned that Dallas was able to enter the Quad so easily.
"It's a horrible thing to happen," the friend said. "My door was unlocked, and it definitely could have happened to me."
The University's Division of Public Safety is working to address such concerns and have increased security around the Quad.
"Emotions are running high," Rush said. "And we want to make sure that [students] have an increased feeling of security."
In response to this weekend's incident, the Division of Public Safety is conducting an ongoing audit of the security in all the residential dormitories.
"We are looking at this entire situation to see what steps can be taken to ensure that when there are large crowds we can still be confident that there is a lot of security," Rush said.
Public Safety is conducting a joint investigation with Spectaguard to determine what will happen to the guard who was on duty when the assailant entered the Quad. A decision on this matter is expected today or tomorrow.
