After responding to a call early yesterday morning, Metropolitan Police Department officers apprehended James Arthur Bush for sexually assaulting a woman on the sidewalk of the 2000 block of Wisconsin Avenue.

The 26 year-old female victim “resisted her assailant,” according to an email written by MPD Commander Matt Klein.

Bush, a 55 year-old homeless man, was arrested shortly after the assault in the area of 35th Street and S Street. He was charged with third degree sexual assault, which Klein defined as “inappropriate touching.”

It’s no secret that sexual assault is a serious issue for the Georgetown and surrounding communities.

Last fall, the Department of Public Safety launched the Rape Aggression Defense (R.A.D.) Program. The program is a self-defense course totaling twelve hours over the course of two weeks. The course, which has been offered around the nation for more than twenty years, is open to all female faculty, staff, and students.

According to DPS Associate Director Joseph Smith, the program was not started in response to any specific incident, but rather, as part of an effort to encourage personal safety and security.

“The impetus for the program stemmed from a fundamental desire to enhance the safety and welfare of our students,” he wrote. “We can do all of the right things and still find ourselves in a precarious situation. In such cases, it is important to have a tactical plan in place.”

Assistant Director of Support Services Andrew Powell recommends that every female at Georgetown participate in the R.A.D. program.

“Nationwide, women from ages 13 to 85 have taken the R.A.D. course, regardless of physical ability levels,” Powell wrote. “Because the class is a mixture of both lecture theory and physical skills, everyone can benefit.”

For more information, class schedules, and a registration page, visit the program’s homepage.

Vox has obtained a Metropolitan Police Department report that shows that both MPD Lieutenant John Hedgecock and the Department of Public Safety misrepresented the nature of Sunday’s sexual assault in Burleith.

According to the report, the victim woke up to the suspect “having vaginal intercourse with her.” Although both MPD and DPS Director Joseph Smith made comments that suggested that the suspect entered the home without force, the suspect—described as a white male with brown hair and an average build—broke into the victim’s S Street home by removing an air conditioning unit attached to a window, according to the report.

The report says that the suspect fled after the victim began to yell, “Get off of me!”

The report lists the assault as second degree sexual assault, which is described as a crime where victim is “[i]ncapable of appraising the nature of the conduct,” “[i]ncapable of declining participation in that sexual act,” or “[i]ncapable of communicating unwillingness to engage in that sexual act.”

On Tuesday, Hedgecock told the Hoya, “This was a preventable crime. Students have to lock their doors and protect themselves by staying in groups.” (Smith echoed Hedgecock’s recommendations.) However, these new details show that the crime would have been difficult to prevent.

The suspect is still at-large.

Just like last year, Vox has compiled a guide to “news you can use”, or in other words, an excessively comprehensive review of last year’s important news stories. Today, we cover the crime issues that made headlines.

Sexual assaults

The past three years, there have been a series of sexual assaults following a similar formula: a man enters a home, gets in bed with a female resident, attempts to sexually assault her, and leaves before the woman is able identify the perpetrator. Some students call the assailant the “Georgetown Cuddler”—an unfortunate nickname that we won’t be using anymore—though it very well may be multiple perpetrators.

While no connection has yet been made, the recent sexual assault in Burleith bears similarities to other crimes, including an assault in Copley, an assault at gunpoint on Prospect Street, and an assault on the 3800 block of Calvert Street. In April, student groups held a vigil for victims.

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After an ANC-less August, last night’s Advisory Neighborhood Committee agenda featured bikes, break-ins, and a daunting backup of private projects.

Bicycle Races

The next major topic of discussion was the highly-anticipated Capital Bikeshare program. DDOT spokesman Chris Holben announced that the two-year old SmartBike project—the first public bike-sharing program in the US—has been so successful that the city will expand it to 100 new locations and 1,100 bikes.

The new plan will include three locations in Georgetown, two of which have already been discussed and agreed upon—a spot on K Street next to the House of Sweden and on Wisconsin next to the Canal Bridge. The candidates for third location included the stretch of sidewalk right outside the University’s front gates and the intersection at Prospect and 35th, adjacent to the Car Barn.

The ANC voted to continue its support of the first two locations and, despite complaints from residents wary of potential increased noise, voted six to one in favor of the 37th and N location.

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According to a report from MPD Lt. John Hedgecock, an unknown perpetrator sexually assaulted a female Burleith resident early this morning. The assault occurred on the 3800 block of S Street.

“In response, we have stepped up our patrol presence in the area and are working closely with our sex crimes unit,” Hedgecock wrote. “Please encourage everyone to report ANY suspicious activity they observe in the area.”

Hedgecock added that the victim is not associated with Georgetown University. Vox encourages anybody with information about this morning’s crime to immediately call 911.

8/30 Update:

Yesterday, DPS sent out a Public Safety Alert about the assault. The PSA confirmed Hedgecock’s listserv report, adding that “[w]hen the victim was awakened by the assault, the suspect fled the scene.”

At tonight’s ANC meeting, Hedgecock declined to offer many details, but did reveal that MPD patrol routes have been altered in light of the crime. (Vox will have more tomorrow.)

The Metropolitan Police Department has released a sketch of the man believed to have been the perpetrator of an April 16 assault.

The early Friday morning assault occurred at the 3300 block of Prospect Street, less than a block away from late night hotspot Tuscany Café.  The suspect allegedly approached the victim from behind, ordered her to give him her possessions, and then he proceeded to put his hand up her dress and tore a piece of her clothing.

The suspect is described as a black man who is 6-foot-3 with a medium build and short black hair.

This attack is just one of a string of sexual assaults that have occurred on or around the Georgetown campus in the past year.

Anyone who recognizes the individual in the sketch, or who may have any information regarding the assault can contact MPD at 202-727-9099.   If you would prefer that your tip be anonymous you can call D.C. Crime Solvers at 866-411-TIPS.

How many Public Service Announcement reports about sexual assaults do you think you’ve gotten in your e-mail inbox over the last year? If you actually check your Hoyamail account, that answer probably ranges somewhere from “Too many,” to “Way too many,” to “Oh my God, can this be for real?”

On Wednesday evening, GU Men Creating Change, United Feminists, and Sexual Assault Peer Educators held a vigil in Red Square in response to recent sexual assault incidents and in honor of Sexual Assault Awareness Month. Students including Jared Watkins (COL ’11), co-Chair of GU Men Creating Change, Marion Cory (COL ’10), a board member of United Feminists, and Amanda Kerrigan (SFS ’10) of Sexual Assault Peer Educators, conducted the vigil “for all sexual assaults that occur and remain unheard,” according to the event’s Facebook posting.

Although the Facebook posting confirmed 96 confirmed guests, a crowd of only about 15 people gathered in Red Square for the vigil last night. The crowd, which included a representative from Counseling and Psychiatric Services (CAPS), discussed plans to increase on-campus sexual assault awareness.

“It’s important that people are well informed about sexual assault even without all the PSAs,” Watkins said. “We’re here to provide resources on related organizations or to let anyone who’s interested to get involved.”

Some students, such as Kristin Mitchell (COL ’10), expressed concern about the lack of University action against sexual assault during the vigil.

“We get the emails, but they’re met with almost complete silence,” Mitchell said. “We don’t see anyone mobilizing, just people saying, ‘Look how scary! Don’t walk home alone!’ But what can we do to change?”

However, representatives from the coalition of groups did not seem discouraged by the small crowd that attended the vigil—they instead argued that it was a step in the right direction. Undeterred, the groups plan to hold similar events in Red Square in future months in order to provide information and raise awareness about sexual assault.

Watkins, who seemed particularly optimistic, added, “All great movements start with about this many people!”

The majority of this week’s meeting of the Georgetown University Student Association Senate was spent considering the arguments of Georgetown, Divest!, which is pushing the University to divest from companies that profit from human rights violations in Israel and Palestine. The Senate also spent some time debating the Academic Working Group’s diversity requirement recommendation, but did not vote on any legislation at the meeting. Here’s the wrap:

Georgetown, Divest!: Jackson Perry (COL ’12) presented the case Georgetown, Divest! is making to the Senate in the early part of the meeting. (Disclosure: Perry is an assistant photo editor for the Voice). Perry told the senators that his group has come to the conclusion that the University has exercised little oversight over the companies it has invested in, and has no process to ensure that the University was investing only in socially responsible companies which lived up to the University’s Jesuit principles.

Perry cited an article written by the Voice‘s Cole Stangler saying, “While divestment is non-negotiable to administrators, it appears that Georgetown’s Jesuit and Catholic identity is.” Perry said his group was focusing on pushing the University to institute a process that allows it to invest in a socially responsible way, and to specifically promise not to invest in eight companies selected by Georgetown, Divest! as particularly egregious in perpetuating human rights violations in Israel and Palestine. Several senators seemed to take issue with the group’s focus on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and on eight companies in particular.

“There seems to be a political agenda here as well,” GUSA Senator Nick Troiano (COL ’11) said.

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A Georgetown student was sexually assaulted at gunpoint early Friday morning on the 3300 block of Prospect Street, the Department of Public Safety is reporting. The suspect is still at large. From the Public Safety Alert:

“[A]t approximately 2:00 a.m., a student was sexually assaulted at gunpoint by an unknown male in the 3300 block of Prospect St. MPD responded to the scene upon being notified by the complainant. DPS responded to the complainant’s on campus residence at 3:16 a.m., at which time she reported that she had been sexually assaulted.

“She stated that the suspect approached her from behind, put his hand up her dress and tore a part of her clothing, but she was able to escape the suspect. The suspect was last seen running towards M Street.”

The Metropolitan Police Department is investigating the crime. The victim described the suspect as a black male with medium build, approximately 6’3″ tall, wearing a black tee shirt, and dark washed jeans. She did not report any injuries from the incident.