EAST LANSING, Mich.- Three female Michigan State University Students have been attacked and two were sexually assaulted in a month span. Now, police are looking for what they’re calling a serial rapist.
Lieutenant Scott Wriggelsworth from the East Lansing Police Department says, “The female was walking home after doing some shopping and was actually dragged into a wooded area and the suspect sexually assaulted her.”
The first sexual assault happened April 20th on Coolidge Road south of Lake Lansing Road near the campus of Michigan State University. That had East Lansing Police concerned by the violent nature of the sexual attack, then it happened again.
The second attack happened April 26th at the 300 block of Charles Street. Wigglesworth says, “She was attacked from behind, dragged behind a shed.” She got away but the attacker was wearing a hood and she didn’t get a good look at his face.
The third attack happened May 16th when a girl was dragged into an enclosed dumpster area at Abbott Pointe Apartments off Abbott Road. Wigglesworth says it happened in a high traffic area during the day, “That one’s got us, I mean they all have us extremely concerned but that one’s extremely disconcerting to us because it happened during the day and there were people around and people actually heard it. So a very, very brazen suspect to do that during the day.”
Now, East Lansing Police have released a sketch of the suspect saying he is white, 5’5” to 6’ tall and around 18 to 25-years-old. Wigglesworth says everything else is taking a backseat until they find this guy, “We’re throwing every resource that we can, the police department in conjunction with neighboring police.”
Lydia Quella lives near the dumpster where the third student was attacked and she says it’s changed her daily life. She says, “I was actually here and had no idea it was even going on, so that was really terrifying.”
Quella continues, “There’s three buildings surrounding where it happened, so I don’t take the garbage out myself anymore. I won’t even go over there, it’s hard to think about.”
More than 4000 students from West Michigan attend MSU. The most students coming from Kent County. MSU says they sent out a university wide email on Friday making students aware of the attacks.
Quella says it’s consuming her and her friends staying and taking classes and working in East Lansing this summer.
Quella says, “We don’t walk home, we do the buddy system type deal, we talk about it a lot, it’s not a good thing. Something worse is going to happen until they find him, that’s the scariest part.”
Quella says she’s taking every precaution and doesn’t want to leave East Lansing but the recent sexual attacks have her family extremely worried. She says, “My mom wants me to come home, just come home right now.”
If you have any information on these sexual attacks you’re urged to call East Lansing Police at 1-877-ELPD-TIP or 1-877-357-3847.
Related articles
- Search for Serial Rapist Near MSU Campus (fox17online.com)
- Police Search For MSU Off Campus Sexual Predator (fox17online.com)
- East Lansing police release sketch of serial sexual assault suspect (mlive.com)
- 2 Michigan State students sexually assaulted in East Lansing, police say (mlive.com)
