First rape of 2017-2018 academic year reported

Two months into the 2017-2018 academic year, the Ohio University Police Department received its first report of sexual assault.

[dropcap txtcolor="#214885" style="dropcap1"]T[/dropcap]his week, the Ohio University Police Department (OUPD) received its first reported rape of the 2017-2018 academic year. On Oct. 9 at 10:00 p.m., OUPD picked up a Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner kit from O’Bleness Memorial Hospital.Peaking at 47 offenses in 2016, the past three years saw an increase of reported forcible sex offenses at Ohio. Reports of rape alone at Ohio U have jumped from 20 counts in 2015 to 32 counts in 2016.[AdSense-A]Ohio U President Duane Nellis released a brief statement addressed to the Bobcat family on Oct. 11 concerning sexual assault. “We all have a legal, but more importantly, a moral obligation to keep it from happening here,” Nellis wrote. Nellis noted that the Monument Quilt, an art installation containing over a thousand squares filled with stories of sexual assault, will be displayed in its entirety at Peden Stadium for the first time on Oct. 13 from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m.“As we work together to leverage our collective experience, expertise, and knowledge, we can identify solutions that provide hope and encouragement to those affected, and develop strategies to end sexual misconduct on our campuses once and for all,” Nellis wrote.