By Danica Riley
A female Ryerson student narrowly escaped five men she heard say “Let’s rape her,” as she waited to be let into the Interior Design building.
“We’ve never had such an outwardly threatening situation as this one,” said Terry Ladouceur, manager of campus safety and security.
The woman was on her way to do some work in the Interior Design studio at 11 p.m. on Oct. 23. She walked down the alley behind the Interior Design building to go in the back door, as she and many of her classmates often do.
“I thought it would be OK because it was Thursday night and there would be a lot of people around Oakham House,” the woman said later.
The women encountered five men standing in the alley.
“Let’s rape her,” she heard them say.
She hurried to get inside the Interior Design building but the door was locked. She had to use the buzzer so a student would let her in.
The woman heard the men laughing and saying, “Ryerson Rapists.”
It was several minutes before she was let into the building. “In the amount of time they had until I was let in, anything could have happened,” the woman said.
Although the woman was unharmed, she said it was a very frightening experience.
The woman could not give adequate descriptions of the men or the cat they drove away in because it was too dark in the laneway to see them.
Ladouceur said it’s ironic this happened because the week before, security surveyed the area for security improvements. A blue phone will be installed in April but in the meantime lighting will be improved and shrubbery cleared.
Ladouceur also said security patrols the area and tries to have a greater presence in buildings where students work late, such as Interior Design and Fashion.
Ladouceur said Interior Design students should use the Church Street entrance to their building until the lane is more secure. He also said students should not take short cuts through laneways, especially if they are alone.
“It could be a lot worse if it happens again to someone else,” the woman said.
Leave a Reply