"Safe" at home

It is a fact that most sexual assaults are committed by someone the victim knows, or have met prior to the crime.
And even when there is a stranger element involved, there is a greater possibility that the victims are being assaulted at, or close to, their own home.
By studying several thousand such cases - see 'women can' for more info - I can attest to the "incidents" described below. Mind you, these are just some recent, totally random examples.

Stories:
(February 7) Fayetteville, North Carolina -- A 29-year-old woman reported that a man broke into her condominium and raped her on January 26 2008.
Police are not linking that incident to three that were reported in the same area over an 18-month period, according to fayobserver.com.
The most recent of the linked cases happened in September 2007 when a 21-year-old woman said a man broke into her home and raped her.
A 45-year-old woman told police a man broke into her home and raped her in February 2007.
A man grabbed a 23-year-old woman from behind as she was jogging and raped her in August 2006.
Because of the ongoing investigation, police are not saying how they linked the three cases or give details of any of the incidents.

(February 4) New Jersey -- Point Pleasant Beach police say a man broke into a home on Saturday and attempted to sexually assault a woman at knifepoint, app.com reports.
The attacker fled, and the victim ran to the house of a neighbor, who called the police. She was treated for her injuries at a medical center and later released, police said.

(February 7) Washington, D.C. -- msnbc.msn.com reports about a man who entered a building on Monday at about 10 a.m. by ringing a woman's door buzzer from the outside of the building and telling her he was looking for an apartment to rent.
The man then reportedly sexually assaulted the woman inside her residence.

(February 7, 2008) -- An unidentified man targeted a 19-year-old Arizona State University, Tempe student living in an apartment complex located near the University according to abc15.com.
Investigators believe the suspect used the porch of the ground level apartment to climb into the porch of the second floor unit.
Investigators say the man got on top of the young woman, but she fought back, biting him and then he disappeared into the large complex. The 19-year-old student received minor injuries during the attempted sexual assault.

"The mp3 man"

Still thinking walking/jogging with music is a bright idea?

Story:
Sweden -- a 25-year-old Bohuslaen man has admitted seven sexual assaults, but he is a suspect in other cases as well.

The man was arrested in November as a suspect in sexual assaults in Lund, Gothenburg, Uddevalla and Bovallstrand.

The man has admitted rape in three of the cases, while other times the intended victims have gotten away.

A police spokesman says they are certain that the man intended to rape his victims in all the incidents.

The serial rapist has been called "the mp3 man" because he almost exclusively picked victims that were listening to music through headphones.

'My-key-do' #4

Oregon -- A 26-year-old woman was jogging at a community college outdoor track in Salem. Several other runners were at the track as well as the suspect.

The other runners left, leaving the woman and suspect. The man approached her from behind and pushed her to the ground.

The attacker attempted to pull the woman's clothing off, however, she had a set of keys in hand and began hitting the suspect with the keys in his face. The man then released the woman and fled the area on foot.

Source

Gotta have music

"I can't work out without music."
Some people are never gonna learn until it hits home. Even then, many can't see that they could have done things differently ...

Story:
Wisconsin -- She didn't hear her attacker running up behind her. The 18-year-old woman was listening to her iPod as she rollerbladed along the Janesville bike trail the afternoon of May 24.

She didn't pay much attention to the man she saw sitting on a bench, smoking a cigarette. But a few moments later, he blindsided her with a blow to the head.

Knocked to the ground, she kicked and waved her arms at the assailant. He fled, and she skated home to report the assault.

Another teenager, Rachel, rollerblades the trail every morning. She's not apprehensive because she uses the path in daylight, usually with a friend.

The teenager said she can't carry a cell phone because her skating outfit has no pockets. She also listens to music while skating.

When it was pointed out that the woman attacked was skating alone in daylight without a phone and listening to music, she replied: "I can't work out without music. Where else am I going to work out? I don't enjoy the road."

Source

Wearing headphones

Police are advising women not to run alone at night and recommending they don't use headphones, like iPods, while exercising in the dark after a jogger was attacked on West Cliff Drive Saturday.

A man repeatedly stabbed a 22-year-old Santa Cruz woman who was jogging alone and wearing headphones on a popular trail near Natural Bridges State Beach just after 7:30 p.m. Saturday, police say.

Source

See no evil ...

Denmark -- Following a second sexual assault in less than a week, Randers police are looking into the possibility of having a serial rapist at their hands.

Thursday evening around 8:30 p.m., a 25-year-old woman was violently assaulted.

The woman was out running when she was attacked. The perpetrator forced her to the ground, threatened her with a knife and attempted to tear her clothes off.

The terrified woman hit the attacker with her cellular phone. She then wrestled free and ran away from the man.

Since the method used and the description of the perpetrator in the two cases are very similar, police alleges it may be the same man responsible for both attacks.

Neither of the women saw or heard the man approaching, since they both listened to music when they were attacked, police says. They add that it is very likely that the man have been preying on this victims before striking.

Source

Headphones again ...

Georgia -- A teen goes out for a jog and then has to run for her life. Now police are looking for the man who tried to snatch her.

The attempted kidnapping happened in Marietta. A 16-year-old girl says she fought back when a man tried to grab her.

Cobb County Police say the man tried to grab the girl, who was wearing headphones, and force her into his car. But the victim was able to fight him off and run to a neighbor's house for help.

Source

Nice kick!

An assailant with, what appears to be, a sense of humor. Let me add that there's nothing remotely funny about acts of stupid assaults like this though.

Story:
Oregon -- A female jogger was groped on a dark and foggy path in Wilsonville early Tuesday morning, she told police.

The woman was on a well-used portion of Southwest Town Center Loop East about 5:45 a.m. when a man approached, "wrapping his arms around her" and "clutching her while grabbing her buttocks with each of his hands," said Det. Jim Strovink, spokesman for the Clackamas County Sheriff’s Office.

The suspect reportedly said, "nice ass, baby."

After breaking free, the woman kicked him twice in the groin.

"The suspect keeled over slightly and stated, "nice kick," Strovink said.

Source

That's (not) a big help

Changing your route - now that's a big help...

Story:
(...) power-walked in the center of town, listening to tunes on a CD player. She said she had not heard of the assaults in which two women escaped without serious injury by resisting an attacker.

"I try not to go the same route when I walk," said the 48-year-old nursing assistant who has lived here for 17 years."

Source