New Haven Police are investigating a sexual assault at gunpoint that happened early Monday morning at an off-campus apartment of a Yale graduate student.
It is the city’s fourth felony sexual assault case for the year, and the first where the victim didn’t know the suspect.
“Definitely disturbing to know that happened, and sobering,” said Martha Kahlson, also a Yale graduate student.
Kiernan Liberman lives in the building where the assault happened.
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“I heard some commotion, I heard some footsteps as well,” Liberman said. “I’m nervous that this person might have been stalking the victim or watching her in some sort of way.”
He said the building is home to Yale and Southern students, and others who aren’t in school. Police say there haven’t been any similar crimes in the Elm Street neighborhood in at least the last three years, and people say they like the area.
“I’ve lived in a lot of neighborhoods that feel ‘worse’ than New Haven, so I felt comfortable with what I see around me,” Kahlson said.
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Monte Hunter has worked in the area for 18 years.
“It’s pretty good, yeah, pretty good for the most part, you know? Everybody is friendly,” Hunter said.
His daughter is a student at UConn and the incident reminds him of the advice he gives her: safety is in numbers and be aware of your surroundings.
“I think about her all the time, you know. I’m always calling her,” Hunter said.
Police Chief Karl Jacobson said of most felony sexual assaults involve people who know each other. In this case, he doesn’t think there’s a public safety issue.
“This is not a situation to this degree yet where we have some kind of serial rapist situation, but we do check on all that stuff and as we collect evidence, we match it with other evidence in other cases,” Jacobson said.
He says the circumstance behind the four felony sexual assaults are all different, but they are all being investigated with the same resources.
“There’s no different reaction to us whether it’s in Newhallville, or Fair Haven or in a Yale area," Jacobson said.
