Woman, 19, reports rape, declines to pursue charges

Third case in 3 weeks in which woman has not wanted police to follow through.

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By Meagan Engle, Staff Writer Updated 7:25 AM Thursday, February 11, 2010

OXFORD — Three women have reported rapes, but declined to pursue criminal investigations in unrelated cases during the past three weeks, according to Oxford and Miami University police.

The latest was reported to Miami police Friday, Feb. 5, by a 19-year-old Oxford woman who told officers she was raped at an on-campus dorm the night before by a 20-year-old Miami student she met online, according to a police report.

The woman told police she did not want to charge her alleged attacker because she did not want to testify in court, according to the report. She said she didn’t want to report the rape, but her manager encouraged her to contact the authorities.

“The victim doesn’t want to pursue criminal charges in the matter,” said Miami police Lt. Ben Spilman. “It makes it very difficult to successful prosecute a case without the cooperation of the victim.

“Typically we’re going to abide by the victim’s wishes,” he said.

The woman told police she was with friends when she got a text message from a man she met on myyearbook.com inviting her to his dorm. Inside his room, she said he forced himself on her and she could not escape. She woke up the next morning and was asked to leave, the report states.

The woman declined to give the clothing she was wearing to police, but did allow them to photograph marks on her neck from being choked and bit, according to the report.

Oxford police have also investigated two other reports of rape.

A woman went to McCullough-Hyde Memorial Hospital to report a sexual assault on Jan. 26, but declined to pursue charges with police, according to a report.

Another woman, a Miami University student, also went to the hospital and reported she was raped between 11:30 p.m. and 4 a.m. Feb. 3 by someone she knew somewhere in Oxford, according to police. She also declined to pursue criminal charges.

Contact this reporter at (513) 523-4139 or mengle@coxohio.com.

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