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By Hemesh Patel

Daily Bruin Staff

A string of sexual assaults has plagued the campus and its surrounding areas since August, with the latest incident occurring Friday.

Two students were walking back from a friend’s house around 11 p.m. when a man grabbed one of the women on the 500 block of Veteran Avenue.

“Around the apartment a guy appeared, who started walking behind us but far away,” said the victim’s roommate, who wished to remain anonymous to protect her friend’s identity.

“He grabbed my roommate, and she screamed really loudly. I turned around and I saw a guy with a long shirt and long pants running off very quickly,” she added.

She described the suspect as 5 foot 8 inches and Latino or white, with short hair.

An attempted rape occurred Nov. 28 on the walkway from Sunset Canyon Recreation Center on De Neve Drive, near Bellagio Drive.

ABC 7 News described the suspect as a 5 foot 6 to 5 foot 9 African American man who jumped out of a bush.

To add to these two incidents, a man sexually assaulted another person in the parking lot on Young Drive North, between De Neve Drive and Westwood Boulevard on Nov. 24.

This suspect is described as a 5 foot 8 to 5 foot 10 Hispanic or African American man in his early 20s.

The incident was one of nine incidents which began in August. The initial six incidents took place in Lots 2 and 3 on Tuesdays and Wednesdays between 3:50 and 4:30 p.m.

The next two attacks occurred on consecutive Saturdays, earlier in the afternoon. One incident took place in Lot 2 and the other at the intersection of Young Drive North and Royce Drive.

University police are urging students to remain alert at all times and to not walk on campus alone at night.

An escort service is available to all UCLA students on and around campus between dusk and 1 a.m. at (310) 794-WALK.