Woman reports violent sexual assault on Stanford campus

STANFORD, Calif. (KGO) -- A woman has reported that she was the victim of a violent sexual assault on the main campus at Stanford University. The assault happened sometime late Sunday or early Monday.

It's not known if the female victim was a visitor, a student or a member of the university faculty or staff.

Stanford police learned of the rape after the woman went to Stanford Hospital. She has asked to be anonymous and has not provided a statement to police.

As a matter of policy, ABC7 News does not identify victims of sexual assault.

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The campus is still on summer break. With fall classes resuming late next month, Stanford law professor Michele Dauber, speaking for herself and not knowing details of this latest case, says sexual violence on campus is a problem.

"Students and parents should be aware of that as they come to the university this fall," she said. "Forty-three percent of our female undergraduate students experience sexual violence during their time at Stanford, and the number is highest for freshmen."

Last winter, Stanford reported there were 190 reports of sexual harassment or violence during the 2016-17 school year. That led to 12 formal investigations of non-consensual intercourse.

Two people received suspensions; one was given a permanent ban. One case involved a visiting scholar.

Alex Richardson is crisis intervention manager at the YWCA Silicon Valley, which operates a 24-hour support hotline for all of Santa Clara County. Victims have access to counseling and support services.

"We are going to believe them. We're going to support them, and we're going to be able to walk them through that, and I hope to work myself out of a job," she said.

Given the lack of details about the rape, Stanford police are urging that anyone with details about what happened should contact them.