Young Woman Raped at Quad

A young woman was raped in Harvard-affilated housing near the Radcliffe Quadrangle yesterday morning, according to police and University officials.

In a written statement, University Police Chief Paul E. Johnson said a man illegally entered a Linnaean St. house at approximately 10 a.m. yesterday and raped the woman, who had been asleep inside.

Police said that the woman described the intruder as a dark-skinned, Black male of average weight, between 25 and 30 years of age. The assailant, who remains at large, had a moustache and was wearing a black military jacket, according to the woman.

The woman was not a Harvard student but is a relative of Harvard affiliates, University spokesperson Peter Costa said.

Detectives from the Harvard and Cambridge police departments responded to the scene and are investigating the incident. They declined to provide further details about the reported crime.

It could not be confirmed if force was used to enter the Linnaean St. home, but one neighbor said the intruder forced entry through a patio door.

Other neighbors said that the group of houses and apartments in the area had already experienced one break-in during this academic year and several others in recent years. One resident reported that he installed an alarm system after a daylight burglary several years ago.

Dean of Students Archie C. Epps III said that he had asked all house masters to post Johnson's letter and a description of the alleged rapist.

"As the recent security report suggests, safety is a major problem for us," said Epps. "The College must continue vigorous efforts to improve it."

Dean of the College L. Fred Jewett '57 echoed Epps's remarks and said that, although the woman was not a student, any campus rape is a concern for the College.

"Rape is one of the most serious of crimes and it creates fear in not just the victim but throughout the community," said Jewett. "Whenever a rape occurs in the vicinity of the College we are very concerned. We are doing everything we can to improve security. There is no way we can have a policeman at every location at every hour of the day.

"We just have to be as careful as we can," he continued. "It is unlikely we can stop everything but we can work as hard as we can and as imaginatively as we can to provide a strong deterrent."

Harvard police hand-delivered Johnson's statement to the house masters last night, Currier House Co-Master Holly Davidson said.

North House Co-Master Hanna Hastings declined to comment on the letter when contacted at her home last night. Cabot House Master Jurij Strieder was not available for comment yesterday.

Adams House Senior Tutor Janet A. Viggiani said she had posted the description of the alleged rapist in the house last night. Viggianni said Adams House would likely take steps to respond to yesterday's incident.

North House Committee President Gregory P. Lisi '92 said that although no formal response has been organized, Johnson's letter has been circulated around the house. Lisi said that many Quad residents take extra precautions when traveling at night, but he added that it is impossible to be ready for daytime assaults.

"Obviously she was a victim in the ultimate sense of the word," said Lisi. "There is no way one can prepare for a forced entry into a house."

The rape is the most recent in a series of publicized incidents of sexual assault at Harvard.

On a midweek afternoon in December 1988, a Harvard employee was raped in the Science Center. The rape sparked an outcry from women's groups and others on campus and prompted a number of demonstrations. At the time, administrators promised to tighten campus security.

In September 1989, a Boston man pleaded guilty to the Science Center attack and was sentenced to five-and-one-half to nine years in prison.

Joshua A. Gerstein and Madhavi Sunder contributed to the reporting of this story.