CU Boulder holds panel for sexual assault awareness on heels of student arrest
BOULDER, Colo. (KDVR) — On the heels of another alleged sexual assault, University of Colorado Boulder students are taking action.
A University of Colorado Boulder student is facing charges of sexual assault after he was accused of raping and choking a woman he met on a dating app back in December, according to an affidavit.
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Police arrested Henry Terhaar, 22, on Monday. Formal charges are set to be filed on Friday.
For the third year in a row, students at CU Boulder organized a Sexual Assault Awareness Panel. Gaby Aguijosa, internal tri-executive for CU student government and a leader of the event, said the focus this year is on sexual assault prevention.
“It was something I became more aware of my senior year of high school during some incidents that occurred, and I didn’t realize that these could happen in my community, let alone my own high school,” Aguijosa said. “I thought the position I’m in in student government could help me bring awareness to this issue.”
Boulder District Attorney Michael Dougherty joined experts from the Office of Victim Assistance, the Office of Institutional Equity and Compliance and CU Boulder Police in a conversation with students on Tuesday.
“Usually, the victim and the offender are known to one another, to some extent, so making sure that the offenders are held fully responsible is part of prevention so that they can’t go on to re-offend,” Dougherty said.
Since 2020, data from CU Boulder Police shows a steady increase in sexual assault reports. According to the data, there were 20 sexual assault cases reported in 2020, 28 reported in 2021 and 41 reported in 2022.
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“I also think we’ve had more awareness in our society and across the country around sex assaults. And as a state, we are providing more support for victims when they do come forward,” Dougherty said. “As a result of those things we might be having more sex assault victims willing to come forward.”
In the state of Colorado, Dougherty said victims of sexual assault can seek medical treatment without having to go to law enforcement, only if and when they’re ready.
“Given how many sex assaults go unreported in our country, I want to make sure the victims in Boulder County know it’s a top priority for us,” Dougherty said.
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