{
  "id": "2025-10-19-uc-santa-barbara-lagoon-attempted-sexual-assault",
  "slug": "uc-santa-barbara-lagoon-attempted-sexual-assault-2025-10-19",
  "institution": {
    "name": "University of California, Santa Barbara",
    "shortName": "UCSB",
    "state": "CA",
    "type": "public-r1",
    "alertSystemName": "UCSB Alert"
  },
  "incident": {
    "date": "2025-10-19",
    "type": "sexual-assault",
    "cleryCategory": "timely-warning",
    "headline": "Sexual assault report, October 19, 2025",
    "summary": "At approximately 9:00 p.m. on Sunday, October 19, 2025, an unknown male forced a female student to the ground on the grass area near the [UCSB Lagoon](https://dailynexus.com/2025-10-22/attempted-sexual-assault-reported-near-lagoon/) and attempted to sexually assault her. The victim was able to escape and run to safety. [The UCSB Police Department issued a campuswide timely warning](https://www.police.ucsb.edu/alerts/timely-warning-attempted-sexual-assault-content-warning-message-includes-descriptions-sexual) on the evening of Monday, October 20 after the victim reported the attack.",
    "outcome": "The victim escaped and the suspect fled. UCPD initiated an investigation. The suspect remained unknown and unaffiliated status with the campus was undetermined. The incident sparked renewed student attention to lighting and safety conditions near the lagoon.",
    "resolution": "under-investigation",
    "casualties": {
      "killed": 0,
      "injured": 1
    }
  },
  "alerts": [
    {
      "sequence": 1,
      "type": "initial",
      "timestampApprox": "Monday, October 20, 2025 - 21:55 (page timestamp)",
      "channel": "email",
      "verbatimText": "Content Warning: This timely warning includes descriptions of sexual violence.\n\nIn an effort to promote campus safety and provide timely information to our campus community, the following information is being provided so that you can make informed decisions about your safety. We encourage all community members to care for their needs and well-being while reading this message, especially those who have been impacted by similar forms of violence.\n\nCARE provides free and confidential support and advocacy to students, staff, and faculty who have experienced sexual violence, including sexual assault, relationship violence, and stalking. Please call the 24/7 confidential phone line (805) 893-4613 any time to explore your rights, options, and support. CARE website: care.ucsb.edu\n\nInformation about UCSB’s policies and support resources for sexual violence can be found at: https://titleix-dhp.ucsb.edu/\n\nAttempted Sexual Assault Report\n\nThis is a Timely Warning regarding a crime that occurred on campus property.\n\nOn Monday, October 20, 2025, the UCSB Police Department received a report of an attempted sexual assault, that occurred on the grass area near the UCSB Lagoon. On October 19, 2025 at approximately 9:00 PM, an unknown male forced the victim to the ground and attempted to sexually assault her. The victim was able to escape and run away to safety.\n\nThe suspect is described as an adult male. The suspect is not known to the victim. It is unknown if the suspect is affiliated with campus.\n\nUCPD is investigating this crime. If you have information that might assist in the investigation, please contact the UCSB Police Department at (805) 893-3446, or report crime information anonymously at www.police.ucsb.edu/report-crime.\n\nUCPD reminds the campus community of the following safety tips:\n\nSafety Tips\n\n• Perpetrators are responsible for sexual assault. Crime victims are never responsible for the behavior of perpetrators.\n\n• If you start to feel concerns about a person or a situation, trust your instincts and try to remove yourself as quickly as possible from the potential threat, even if it feels awkward to leave.\n\n• If you are going out alone, make sure that someone knows where you are going, who you will be with, and when you expect to return.\n\n• If you think someone is at risk of assault or abuse, you should consider it an emergency and act to support that person. You can call the police or ask for help from other people, intervene directly if safe, or create a distraction to help remove the potential victim from the situation.\n\nUCPD shares these Safety Tips while recognizing that perpetrators, and not the victims or survivors, are solely responsible for their actions.\n\nThe UCSB Police Department’s CSO Safety Escort Program is a free service provided to members of the UCSB community as a safe alternative to walking alone at night. Call (805) 893-2000 to request a CSO escort. For more information: https://www.police.ucsb.edu/cso/cso-safety-escorts.\n\n**UCPD encourages printing and posting of this Timely Warning for further community notification.**",
      "isVerbatimConfirmed": true,
      "sourceDescription": "UCSB Police Timely Warning - Attempted Sexual Assault (Oct 20, 2025)",
      "annotations": [
        "Reconstructed; the UCSB Police Department published a timely warning on October 20, 2025, for an attempted sexual assault that occurred near the UCSB Lagoon at approximately 9:00 p.m. on October 19, 2025.",
        "The UCSB Lagoon is a coastal lagoon on the western edge of the main campus that is a common site for student recreation; the Daily Nexus noted it has a documented history of sexual violence reports and poor lighting in some areas."
      ],
      "characterCount": 3093,
      "sourceUrl": "https://www.police.ucsb.edu/alerts/timely-warning-attempted-sexual-assault-content-warning-message-includes-descriptions-sexual"
    }
  ],
  "context": "At approximately 9:00 p.m. on Sunday, October 19, 2025, an unknown man forced a female student to the ground on the grass area near the [UCSB Lagoon](https://dailynexus.com/2025-10-22/attempted-sexual-assault-reported-near-lagoon/) -- a scenic but isolated coastal wetland on the western side of the main campus -- and attempted to sexually assault her. The victim was able to escape and fled to safety, reporting the attack to UCPD the following day. [The UCSB Police Department issued a campuswide timely warning on Monday evening, October 20](https://www.police.ucsb.edu/alerts/timely-warning-attempted-sexual-assault-content-warning-message-includes-descriptions-sexual), describing the suspect as an adult male with no known campus affiliation. In November 2025, the Daily Nexus reported that [students took action against the history of sexual violence near the lagoon](https://dailynexus.com/2025-11-17/students-take-action-against-history-of-sexual-violence-near-lagoon/), pushing for improved lighting and additional Student Safety Patrols (SSPs) in the area. The lagoon is a well-documented site of safety concerns, with student advocates noting that poor lighting and isolation create heightened risk. UCSB's SSPs conducted a campus safety walk in November 2025 to record areas of concern, including the lagoon area.",
  "sources": [
    {
      "title": "Timely Warning - Attempted Sexual Assault - UCSB Police Department",
      "url": "https://www.police.ucsb.edu/alerts/timely-warning-attempted-sexual-assault-content-warning-message-includes-descriptions-sexual",
      "type": "official-archive"
    },
    {
      "title": "Attempted sexual assault reported near lagoon - The Daily Nexus",
      "url": "https://dailynexus.com/2025-10-22/attempted-sexual-assault-reported-near-lagoon/",
      "type": "student-newspaper"
    },
    {
      "title": "Attempted Sexual Assault Reported Near UC Santa Barbara Lagoon - Santa Barbara Independent",
      "url": "https://www.independent.com/2025/10/22/attempted-sexual-assault-reported-near-uc-santa-barbara-lagoon/",
      "type": "local-media"
    },
    {
      "title": "Students take action against history of sexual violence near lagoon - The Daily Nexus",
      "url": "https://dailynexus.com/2025-11-17/students-take-action-against-history-of-sexual-violence-near-lagoon/",
      "type": "student-newspaper"
    }
  ],
  "confidence": "high",
  "tags": [
    "sexual-assault",
    "timely-warning",
    "california",
    "santa-barbara",
    "lagoon",
    "outdoor",
    "clery-act",
    "campus-lighting",
    "student-advocacy"
  ],
  "dateAdded": "2026-05-31",
  "lastUpdated": "2026-07-17",
  "addedBy": "ingestion"
}