Recent assault still has many unanswered questions

A sexual assault took place on the northwest side of campus early Sunday morning, according to the Simpson College Office of Security.

According to Director of Security Chris Frerichs, the assailant, who was unidentified, was carrying a knife at the time of the incident. The reported assault took place at 1:30 a.m. in the 700th block of N. E St.

John Fuller, executive director of College Relations said he could not comment on how many people were involved or whether any were Simpson students.

Frerichs sent an e-mail to students and faculty Monday afternoon notifying them of the assault. Frerichs also alerted the Indianola Police Department of the assault, although no formal police charges had been filed as of Tuesday evening.

Indianola Police Chief Steve Bonnett said only general details are known at this point and they have not heard from a victim. He could not confirm if the victim was a Simpson student.

“With every minute that passes, any criminal case gets weaker,” he said.

According to Frerichs, any time an incident occurs that could impact the campus community he sends such a notification. “The intent of the crime alert is to notify the campus community of safety issues and concerns.”

Fuller said the school is required by law to let the campus know what happened. He said he hopes that this is an isolated incident.

“I think that our campus is safe. I think Indianola is safe, but occasionally we have these types of reports,” Fuller said. “It’s the world we live in and we need to be careful.”

This is the fourth attack on or near Simpson’s campus this semester, however it is the first sexual assault. In October three students were physically and verbally assaulted by a group of local men.