Woman who reported sex assault at Green Music Center show not a student, university says

Sonoma State University police said Friday they’ve made no arrests and could release no new details in a reported sexual assault last weekend during a Green Music Center concert attended by about 3,000 people.

Earlier campus reports said a woman was assaulted by a stranger Saturday night on Weill Lawn during a performance by country singer Chris Young.

Neither her condition nor details about the assault were released.

Late Friday, a university official said the woman was not a student.

But Bill Kidder, chief of staff for SSU President Judy Sakaki, said he could not provide additional information about the reported assault, including where it occurred at the outdoor space or details that would clarify the severity of the attack.

“I realize the ambiguity, but that ?relates to police professional judgment about calibrating the level of detail (released) at the early part of an investigation,” Kidder said.

University police initially described a suspect as a white man in his 20s about 6 feet tall with brown hair and “a thin, athletic, physical build.”

Campuswide email alerts were sent out early Sunday and Wednesday.

The later bulletin included a photograph of a man wearing a gray San Francisco Giants “SF” logo T-shirt, dark pants and a baseball cap but did not say if the person was believed to be connected to the assault.

Acting university Police Chief David Dougherty on Friday declined to clarify that, calling him only a “person of interest” in an investigation started in the past week.

He declined to say if the attacker was believed to be a student.

He said sexual assaults happen “occasionally” on campus but could not provide specific numbers.

University spokesman Nicolas Grizzle did not respond Friday to a request for assault statistics.

Sakaki, the university’s new president, could not be reached Friday.

Kidder, her chief of staff, returned a call on her behalf Friday evening but declined to elaborate on the case other than to say the woman was not a student.

Meanwhile, people contacted on the Rohnert Park campus Friday said they were aware of the attack and police efforts.

“Certainly everybody is concerned and wants to see the person found,” said Ben Ford, math professor and chairman of the faculty and academic senate.

Anyone with information is asked to call campus police at 707-664-4444.

You can reach Staff Writer Paul Payne at 707-568-5312 or paul.payne@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter @ppayne.