Athens police investigating possible sexual assault of UGA student

Athens-Clarke County police are investigating the possible sexual assault of a University of Georgia student.

According to a police report, the 20-year-old woman last remembered drinking with friends in downtown Athens just before midnight Thursday. She told police she woke up on cardboard boxes near a homeless man who was touching himself behind her.

The student realized that her black skirt was inside out and she could not find her phone or purse, the police report said. She fixed her skirt in a public bathroom and was escorted home by “two kind older homeless men” around sunrise.

She contacted police and could not recall any sexual acts taking place “but was generally unsure,” according to the report. It was unclear from the police report whether the woman sought or received medical attention.

Police found the woman’s description of her location – “cardboard boxes by some white marble pillars on a landing above white marble stairs” – matched City Hall.

At City Hall, police spoke to a homeless man who recalled seeing a female dressed in black talking to three or four men in front of City Hall late that evening. The police report lists an unnamed homeless individual as a suspect.

Athens-Clarke County police said in a statement that they had spoken with an individual of interest and added no arrest had been made in connection with the investigation at the time of the statement.

On Saturday, UGA sent out a community notification saying detectives had identified and were questioning a person of interest.

“There is no higher priority than the safety and security of our students, and university officials are currently working directly with the student and her family to provide support,” the university said in a statement to the AJC. It added that over the past decade, UGA has invested more than $30 million in safety and security enhancements on campus, including a rideshare program that has provided more than 354,000 rides since 2021.