SAN DIEGO — San Diego State University students had crowded the street in the 5000 block of Rockford Drive on the evening of Aug. 18 and into the early-morning hours of Aug. 19, when a young woman reported being sexually assaulted after calling for a rideshare.
Video recorded by a neighbor’s surveillance camera showed several coeds in the street that evening.
“The sororities have had pretty big parties. Just yesterday, there was a big one in the sorority behind us. I think there was a live band over there. And they were just raging,” said Rockford Drive resident Ken Bierly.
The 19-year-old told investigators the crime took place between midnight and 2 a.m. on Aug. 19, after the student and a companion got into a dark-colored sedan that they believed was a being driven by a rideshare worker, according to the San Diego Police Department.
Neighbors said San Diego police came knocking at their doors in recent days looking for video of the two women, who had been sitting on a curb along Rockford Drive before they were picked up.
Following the alleged assault, the driver dropped off the pair several blocks from where he had picked them up, SDPD Lt. Carmen Rivera said.
They described the alleged assailant as a "poofy"-haired man in his mid-20s who spoke with a heavy accent that made him difficult to understand, Rivera said.
The very next weekend, around 2 a.m. on Aug. 27, a second woman reported she was picked up in a residential area south of SDSU by a man she thought was a rideshare driver who sexually assaulted inside the vehicle.
Police said the driver dropped off the woman at 70th Street near Saranac Street following the assault.
SDSU students told CBS 8 they are scared.
“It’s really disappointing that this keeps happening. It's not good. It's only been three weeks and there's already been two cases, that's not good,” said one coed.
Police are urging students to be safe when ordering a rideshare, confirm the license plate and make and model of the car before getting in. When the driver shows up, ask him a simple question: Who are you here to pick up?’ The driver should be able to identify the passenger.
Anyone with information about either case is asked to call San Diego County Crime Stoppers at 888-580-8477 or contact the agency online at sdcrimestoppers.org. Tipsters may remain anonymous and could be eligible for a reward of up to $1,000.
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