In response to the surge of reported sex crimes on campus this semester, Sacramento State officials have made several moves to ensure student safety.

There have been two reported sexual assaults and three reported instances of sexual battery since September &- the most to occur in one semester in recent history. In 2007, there were five reported sex crimes at Sac State, but they were spread throughout the entire year. There were no sex crimes in 2008, and two in 2009, said Sac State Police Det. Scott Christian.

Sac State police have increased campus patrols and expanded its night escort service, Christian said, though he declined to give additional details about the expansion “because of operational issues,” he said.

Police are also improving protocol for sending out alert bulletins to students, Christian said.

None of the crimes were related, he said, and police do not have an explanation for the recent surge.

The crimes this semester were unique in that they were “stranger assaults,” where the victim and perpetrator did not know each other, said victim advocate Jessica Heskin.

Typically, 85 percent of sex crimes are acquaintance-related, Heskin said.

“We don’t know why we’ve seen these stranger assaults,” she said. “It’s something we really have no way of knowing until we go back and study everything.”

Heskin and police both suggested students keep safe by traveling in groups and being cognizant of their surroundings.

The best way to prevent sex crimes, Heskin said, is by teaching “bystander intervention,” which means letting people know they can stop crimes in progress.

“Say you’re at a party and see a woman who can hardly walk, and you see a guy dragging her up to a bedroom,” Heskin said. “You can find a way to intervene, maybe by having a conversation with the guy before things go bad.”

Several years ago, Heskin started a bystander intervention campaign called No Woman Left Behind.

The campaign focuses on students taking collective responsibility for sex crimes, rather than only asking “what someone else is doing about it,” Heskin said.

“Sex crimes affect everyone on campus, not just the victim,” she said. “If one woman gets groped on the way to class, as another woman on campus, that affects the way I feel. And for men, it can probably be frustrating too.”

The first reported sex crime this semester was on Sept. 13 when a woman was touched inappropriately by a Hispanic man as she studied outside of Capistrano Hall, according to police reports.

The second was on Oct. 18. A female student reported being raped by an acquaintance in the residence halls. Charges were later dropped due to lack of evidence.

It was followed on Oct. 21 by the reported kidnapping and sexual assault of a female student near the residence halls. According to reports, the victim was picked up by three men driving a van, sexually assaulted and then released.

On Nov. 8, a woman reported being groped through her clothing by an unknown man as she walked through the Library Quad, according to reports.

Two more instances happened on Nov. 15, according to reports.

Police said a woman was sexually assaulted in Parking Structure I, and another was touched on the chest by a man as she walked to her car. The latter victim sprayed the perpetrator in the face with pepper spray, according to reports.

To prepare for finals week, when students will study on campus late at night, the university’s Violence and Sexual Assault Services is hosting a free self-defense course from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday in the Well.

Sac State kinesiology professor Midge Marino, a nationally recognized self-defense instructor, will be teaching the course, Heskin said.

Staff, students and faculty can attend Saturday’s course without RSVP, she said.

“It doesn’t matter what level people are,” Heskin said. “The class will be very individualized and friendly.”

Ken Paglia can be reached at [email protected].