Less than a week ago, prosecutors charged a University of Wisconsin-Madison student from the Twin Cities with raping another student for more than two hours in his apartment, ignoring her pleas for him to stop and, at one point, choking her.
Since then, at least six other students have come forward to city or university police to accuse 20-year-old Alec R. Cook, of Edina, of sexually assaulting or inappropriately touching them over the past year or so.
Amid the growing number of reports, UW-Madison officials sought Tuesday to reassure the campus community that all cases of sexual assault would be taken seriously and investigated fully.
College campuses across the country have been moving over the past few years to increase awareness and accountability surrounding sexual assault, arming students with bystander intervention strategies and encouraging them to take ownership of a problem that generations before them tended to sweep under the carpet, but that is increasingly being reported.
Police found a notebook that “assisted us with the investigation” when they executed a search warrant at Cook’s apartment, UW-Madison spokesman Marc Lovicott confirmed Tuesday. The notebook reportedly contains information on Cook’s stalking and grooming of women, according to the Wisconsin State Journal.
Cook — who is majoring in real estate and urban land economy — was suspended from the university last Tuesday under an emergency clause in the student conduct code. As a condition of his initial bail for charges already filed against him, he is prohibited from being on the UW-Madison campus.
Cook last Thursday was charged with four felony counts of second-degree sexual assault with use of force, three counts of battery, and one count each of strangulation-suffocation and false imprisonment in connection with the Oct. 12 incident in which he is accused of attacking a 20-year-old woman in his apartment.
The woman told police she tried to reach her phone or leave several times during the assault, but Cook “always had a death grip on my arm or body,” the criminal complaint says.
Since his arrest last week, three more women reported alleged assaults to Madison police. One said he attacked her in his apartment in February, the other recounted an attack in the apartment in 2015, according to a police incident report. Information about the fourth alleged assault was not immediately available from Madison police on Tuesday.
UW-Madison police are pursuing charges connected to one student who said Cook inappropriately touched her on 15 occasions during a ballroom dance class last spring. University police also are investigating allegations from at least two more women.
Police are continuing to interview women who have made allegations, UW-Madison’s Lovicott said.
Cook was in custody Tuesday in the Dane County Jail and the latest allegations have been referred to the Dane County district attorney’s office, according to UW-Madison police.
His bail hearing Thursday is expected to address the charges from the UW-Madison Police Department, as well as charges from the City of Madison Police Department.
Meanwhile, students and parents of students have taken to social media to vent anger and concern, as Cook’s photo has circulated with news media reports describing the expanding sexual assault investigation against him.
Many female students said they were shaken because they recognized him from class or social settings.
It’s common for victims of unrelated sexual assaults to see a news report or conversation on social media and need to talk through feelings that re-emerge, said Carmen Neimeko, End Violence on Campus (EVOC) team manager. She reminded students that 24-hour hotlines are available for survivors and friends and family of survivors.
UW-Madison Dean of Students Lori Berquam sent an email to students last Friday in an effort to reassure them of their safety, and the university’s commitment to providing support.
Berquam issued another statement Tuesday, reminding students: “We take all reports seriously and investigate them thoroughly,” and directing them to resources and reporting options through www.uhs.wisc.edu/assault.
Berquam also reiterated that Cook is under emergency suspension and, as part of his bail conditions, is prohibited from being on campus.
“We remain deeply concerned about the allegations in this case and are cooperating fully with Madison police and the University of Wisconsin Police as they continue their investigations,” she said.
Berquam pledged that support services would continue to be available for any student who needed them.
“Sexual violence is unacceptable in our campus and community,” Berquam said. “As dean of students, I’m absolutely committed to the safety and well-being of our students, as well as transparency and communication about these topics.”