Attack on female student prompts college bus move
Students at Athlone IT are being offered bus transport in and out of the college after a young woman was attacked near the campus – the fourth in 18 months.
Detectives are investigating whether the four assaults, all described as serious, were linked and students arriving for the new term have been advised to stay on their guard.
A 19-year-old woman, a student at the IT, was recovering after she was set upon on the Old Dublin Road at around 2.30am today, close to where three other women have been attacked.
Students’ Union president Micheal Fogarty said it had warned members to be vigilant as it hosts Freshers’ Week for first years.
“The Students’ Union at AIT implements an ongoing safety information programme and ’Stay Messages’ were an integral part of student induction last week,” he said.
“We will be reinforcing the message that students not walk alone and remain vigilant at all times.
“Our priority is to ensure the well-being and safety of the students at AIT.”
The college has organised buses to ferry students between the town and campus in an effort to stop people walking home alone at night.
Gardaí said the latest incident took place at the Bonavalley Bridge and forensic officers spent several hours examining the scene.
The attacker, believed to be a young man, was wearing a black top and may have been dressed all in black.
The four attacks have all occurred in the same area with the latest incident almost a year since the last assault.
A woman was attacked while walking along the same stretch of road in October last year. The previous month, another woman was set upon by an attacker who dragged her to a secluded area.
The first attack, which occurred last August, was reconstructed in an RTÉ 'Crimecall' programme.
The victim was assaulted while she waited for her friend who went in search of a taxi after the pair left a nightclub in the town.
She was dragged into a disused bus-park where the attacker severely beat her. He ran off after the woman fought back.
A €10,000 reward was offered by 'Crimestoppers' for information leading to the arrest of the man believed to be responsible for the attack following last year’s incidents.
