Police in Cambridge, Massachusetts, are investigating a sexual assault after the victim reported waking up in a parking lot in Central Square with no memory of how she got there.
Investigators said they received the report around 12:20 a.m. Tuesday. The victim told officers that she was talking to three people on the 200-block of Franklin Street in Cambridgeport, and that she was unable to remember what happened next.
The victim said she woke up in a parking lot in Central Square and discovered she'd been assaulted. She was taken to the hospital for treatment.
Police say the victim is an unhoused woman, but did not share any further details out of respect for her privacy.
"I've lived in the neighborhood 30 years," said resident Betsy Burkhardt. "I've never felt safe, in terms of walking by myself after nine at night."
"At a certain time of night, I'm in the home, because it's too much going on out in the streets," said Franklin Street resident Barbara Omere. "It is scary, it is very, very scary."
People who live in the area were startled by the news, but say that the neighborhood tends to be trending in the wrong direction when it comes to drugs, homelessness and crime.
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Still, the attack seemed out of the ordinary to some neighbors.
"I generally feel safe," said Samantha Wuu, who lives in the neighborhood. "I've never had any qualms about walking home by myself late at night."
Police have not released a description of those being sought.
The case is under investigation. Anyone with information can make an anonymous tip to the Criminal Investigations Unit at 617-349-9151 or online at cambridgepolice.org/TIPS. There will be extra police patrols in the area as a precaution.
Resources for victims of sexual assault are available through the National Sexual Violence Resources Center and the National Sexual Assault Telephone Hotline at 800-656-4673, and Massachusetts provides this list of statewide and resources for sexual assault survivors.
