Reported rape evokes fear

Uneasiness lingers in the minds of students on campus, after last week's reported rape at Parkside Commons dormitory.

"That's not comforting," said Becca Gullion, freshman criminal justice major. "It's frightening and scary."

An unidentified woman attending a party in one of the suites of Building G in Parkside Commons, called University Police at 3:30 a.m. on March 20 to report a rape, said Toni Beron, assistant vice president of Public Affairs.

After arriving on the scene, University Police taped off the building and conducted an investigation, which included a search that extended to neighboring Building J, according to building residents.

One unidentified male was taken into custody and booked for rape, according to Jack Pearson, chief of University Police. However, the suspect was released when the victim would not press charges, Pearson said.   He added that the victim is not a Cal State Long Beach student. Pearson would not comment as to whether or not the suspect is a student.

Residents of Building G, including freshman business major Michael Francisco, said they were informed by resident adviser Matt Porterfield of a situation involving a possible rape that had occurred in the building.

"It's shocking," Francisco said. "I wasn't here, but I thought it was a drug bust. Something like this happening is unbelievable."

However, Porterfield said Tuesday he only informed residents of "an ongoing criminal investigation."

The victim is currently receiving counseling, said Lt. Stan Skipworth of University Police. Prosecutors cannot proceed with charges without the cooperation of the victim, he said.

Marcela Chavez, director of the Women's Resource Center, explained why the victim might have dropped the charges.

"I think there's a lot of fear and intimidation in the process," Chavez said.     "Once they press charges, there may be a lack of trust and embarrassment involved. It's not an uncommon situation, but it is unfortunate. There's a lot of pressure and a fear of ridicule."

President Robert Maxson said Tuesday he is "absolutely concerned about this situation, but it's hard to get a handle on anything when there are no charges."

He added that the welfare of every student on campus is his administration's No.1 priority.
"The University wants to know what happened, because I want our students to feel secure," Maxson said. "If anything inappropriate happened, I would hope that people step forward."

Since 1995, there have been nine cases of sexual assault reported at CSULB, three of which have been forcible rapes, according to University Police statistics.

Walking to class from her dorm Tuesday afternoon, sophomore history major Gina Ellis was surprised to hear of the rape.

"You'd think people would be safe living here," Ellis said. "It's more than shocking, it makes me not want to walk by myself anymore."

Kristopher Hanson contributed to this story.

This story originally ran in its entirety March 29.