Police investigate possible sexual assault at 'Occupy Seattle' camp

Protesters working to improve safety conditions in the encampment

Dana Rebik
Q13 Fox News reporter

6:50 p.m. PST, November 21, 2011
SEATTLE—

Police were called to the Occupy Seattle encampment at Seattle Central Community College after a possible sexual assault Friday night.

A woman was coming back to her tent and found a strange man running out of it. Inside, another woman was passed out on the ground, naked from the waist down. Police took the victim to Harborview and are looking for the suspect.

“It seems like he was caught in the act, not having sex with her but she was just about to get assaulted,” said Occupy Seattle's Robbie Watts.

Every night, more than 100 people camp at the Occupy Seattle site on Capitol Hill.

“We are handling things day by day, as they happened,” said Watts. “We’re doing the best we can as a group to ensure safety.”

Students who walk near the camp every day expressed fears about their own safety.

“When you hear that, it`s always kind of concerning,” Azula Wilson, a Seattle Central Community College student, said.

Another student said she believes the protesters need to solve problems among themselves for the benefit of the entire campus.

“There`s no policing within itself, there`s no organization, so to me I think anybody can be there and we don`t even know it,” Monique Milam said. “It`s unsafe.”

Occupy Seattle organizers said they believe the suspect is a local homeless man.

“He has caused problems before verbally and we officially banned him from being inside the encampment,” Watts said.

Alyssa MacLaughlin, who said she has been camping at Seattle Central for weeks, said she believes the situation is under control.

“If there is someone who is that much of a problem, we will have a group of people form a line and say we`re very sorry, you`re not welcome here, and they`ll move them off until they`re off the property,” MacLaughlin said.

Seattle Police Department’s sexual assault unit is investigating the incident but said it's not their responsibility to police the encampment.

Organizers of Occupy Seattle are well aware of that. The Occupy camp does have a group of "Peace and Safety" officers who do sweep through the camp every night.

“We’re trying to do the best we can,” Watts said.


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