Penn State student raped while jogging at the Blue Course
Police say the victim was held at knifepoint by her assailant
By ERIN R. WENGERD
Centre Daily Times
UNIVERSITY PARK
July 29, 2000
A 19-year-old Penn State student was held at knifepoint and raped by an unidentified man. She was attacked while jogging at the Penn State Blue Course at dusk Thursday, university police said.
The woman told police she was running near one of the course's water hazards between the 14th and 18th holes at 8:15 p.m. when she was confronted by a white, college-aged man.
He ran past her and then came up behind her," said University Police Investigator Ronald Schreffler.
"The area where both of them were jogging wasn't the normal jogging trail," he said.
The man then placed a small-bladed knife, resembling a pocket knife, to her throat and raped her, Schreffler said.
There was a conversation between the victim and the suspect, but police would not reveal any details.
The suspect is described as being 5 feet, 9 inches tall, police said. He has a thin build and was wearing light-colored shorts and no shirt.
According to the police report. the woman was not cut with the knife, police supervisor Stewart Neff said.
After the attack, the man got up and left, Schreffler said. He was last seen going southwest from the 18th tee. The woman went to the golf pro shop, where she asked employees to call the police.
A police officer then took her to Centre Community Hospital, where she was treated and released.
University police are advising women to avoid secluded areas.
The golf courses are patrolled randomly by police in certain areas.
"Avoid isolated areas and try to have a companion with you," Neff said.
There haven't been any rapes on the university's golf courses in recent years, said Tom Harmon, director of University Police, though he did recall one that happened 20 years ago.
Anyone who might have been near the Blue Course between 8 and 8:30 p.m. Thursday is asked to call police at 863-1111.
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