The alleged April 25 kidnap and sexual assault of an NIU woman has left some students worried about their safety, even though a suspect is in custody.

Todd S. Allgood, a 33-year-old NIU student, was arrested April 26 at his home at the Edgebrook Trailer Park with help from Sycamore police. A grand jury Thursday charged him with aggravated criminal sexual assault, criminal sexual assault, aggravated kidnapping, kidnapping and two counts of unlawful use of weapons.

Michelle Weidner, a senior political science major, said NIU’s parking problem has forced some students to park in an overflow lot, not an NIU lot, east of the Mason Property Office and south of NIU parking lot 38/S. That was the initial site of last week’s attack.

It is located across the street from Molly’s Eatery and Drinkery, 1022 W. Lincoln Highway.

Weidner, who commutes from Sycamore and has a commuter parking permit, said she parked in the lot when she couldn’t find a space in the NIU lots. She assumed it was safe, but said she won’t park there anymore.

NIU reported 17 forcible sex offenses during 1998, according to the Chronicle of Higher Education’s Web site.

The DeKalb Police Department’s statistics, which include university stats, reported that during 1998, there were 23 reports of criminal sexual assault in DeKalb — data that indicates 74 percent of the attacks reported in 1998 for DeKalb involved NIU students.

Rosalind Rogers, a junior dance performance major, said the news of the attack scared her because she also parks in the overflow lot. She opts to drive to class because the bus comes to her Twombly Road apartment only every 30 minutes.

Robert Albanese, associate vice president of finance and facilities, recognizes the concerns students have. He said NIU’s plan to purchase the former Carrols Cinema parking lot, 1201 W. Lincoln Highway, would create about 200 parking spaces to ease the burden on some commuter students.

Albanese suggested that more parking may be available once Barsema Hall opens in fall 2002.

He added that improving lighting conditions in campus lots is one step the university is taking to improve safety conditions.

According to a report released by the National Institute of Justice on the U.S. Department of Justice’s Web site, 3 percent of college women a year experience an attempted or completed rape.

While sexual assault can occur at any time of the day, the report said the vast majority of attacks occurred after 6 p.m. and 60 percent of the attacks happened in living quarters, either in residence halls or off-campus housing.

UP Sgt. Todd Henert said if a student is attacked, surviving the attack is most important and that every situation is different with individual victim responses.

Henert suggests that if you are attacked, try to remain as calm as possible, trust your instincts and report it to University Police officers or DeKalb police as soon as possible.

Diane Pospisil-Kinney, Students Organized Against Rape coordinator, said 10 percent of all sexual assaults are never reported to officials. She also said victims of sexual assault will be left with emotional scars.

Pospisil-Kinney said victims will go through a range of emotions from anger to fear, intense sadness and frustration. She said the most important thing family and friends can do to is support the victim by believing them and respecting whatever decision they make in regards to prosecuting or not prosecuting.

Sgt. Albert Ekstrom, who works with University Police administrative services, said while women are targets for sexual crimes, safety is an issue that affects everyone. He advises students to be assertive, walk confidently and be conscious of their surroundings.

Ekstrom recommends students who don’t feel safe on campus to purchase mace, a whistle or invest in a self-defense course. He added that students who use these safety measures have to know how to use them, have them readily available and feel comfortable enough to use them.

“Anything you use could be used against you if you dropped it or the attacker grabbed it from you,” he said.

(Sources: www.chronicle.com/stats/crime/2000/crimeresults/php3, www.niu.edu/safety6.html, www.usdoj.gov)