For the second time in five days University officials have released a security warning to students, this time involving one crime adjacent to campus and three just east of campus.
The second security warning, released earlier today, comes after a series of four incidents which may be connected. Three of the incidents involved sexual assaults, although these all were reported east of the Schuylkill River.
The Philadelphia Police Department is investigating three sexual assaults and robberies which appear to have been committed by the same person on Nov. 22 and 23. Two of the crimes were reported at 2400 Walnut St. and 2500 Spruce St.
A female Penn student reported another robbery on Nov. 18 at 6:58 a.m. on the 3200 block of South Street, within DPS jurisdiction - the other three incidents were not. The student was robbed at gunpoint, and although no sexual assault occurred, DPS and Philadelphia Police are investigating whether the robbery may be linked to the other three incidents.
This is the second security warning issued by DPS in five days. On Nov. 21, DPS issued a similar crime warning following a string of four robberies involving college-age women robbed with a screwdriver.
The assailant in the three sexual assaults was described by victims as a black male between 30- and 40-years-old with a thin build, light-to-medium complexion and between 5-foot-8 and 5-10. In all three sexual assaults, the suspect approached the victims, who were walking alone, and demanded money. Once each victim gave the suspect money, he reached into the victim's pocket or underneath her dress and sexually assaulted her.
In two of the three sexual assaults, the victims reported seeing a gun.
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