SMU police arrested a rideshare driver Friday for allegedly sexually assaulting an SMU student after driving her to campus earlier that morning.
The arrest is the second this week involving an offense on a female student. SMU police arrested another unidentified man Wednesday in an unrelated incident for the unlawful restraint of a female student who accepted a ride to campus from east of Central Expressway.
Both investigations are ongoing. There is no ongoing threat to the campus community in regard to either incident, according to SMU-wide Aware email statements from university officials sent to students, faculty and staff.
Amil Contreras, 50, was arrested in connection with Friday’s incident and booked into the Dallas County Jail on a sexual assault charge, officials said.
The victim in Friday’s incident called police around 2:20 a.m. to report that she was sexually assaulted in the 3100 block of Daniel Avenue by a rideshare driver who had driven her to campus, according to the email statement to the SMU community.
Family members of the victim observed the suspect’s vehicle and flagged down a Dallas police officer, who followed the vehicle to an off-campus location on Greenville Avenue and detained the suspect, according to officials.
Just two days earlier, SMU police reported at approximately 2:30 p.m. on Wednesday that an unidentified male in a gray sedan offered a student a ride on SMU Boulevard, “requested sex and refused to let her go,” according to another SMU Aware statement.
This week’s two incidents are placing many SMU students on high alert, said Marlo Von Der Ahe, an SMU junior from Westport, Connecticut, who is majoring in film and anthropology.
“Sometimes I forget about the prominence of sexual assault,” she said. “But it’s moments like this where I am reminded of how terrifying it is to be a woman. We are forced to take caution when doing tasks that men don’t even think twice about. It breaks my heart.”
SMU police and student leaders did not immediately respond to questions for comment about the two incidents.
SMU officials reminded students to stay vigilant about their surroundings at all times and to report any suspicious activity to the SMU Police Department at 214-768-3333, call 911 or use the SMU Safety App.
