Columbia Police seek ‘person of interest’ in reported rape near USC campus

The Columbia Police Department has released photos of a man it’s calling “a person of interest” in the investigation of a sexual assault that occurred on Jan. 30, near the University of South Carolina’s campus.

Chief Skip Holbrook said the Columbia Police would like to speak with the man in the photos as part of the continuing investigation.

A woman reported being raped between 3:15 and 3:30 a.m. on Jan. 30, Public Information Officer Jennifer Timmons said. The woman told police a man, who said he had a weapon, forced her to go to the 800 block of Barnwell Street where he sexually assaulted her.

She said the man who attacked her may have been the same man she talked to briefly in an apartment complex hallway, according to Timmons.

After the assault, the victim walked to her apartment where her roommate called 9-1-1 and sought treatment at a local hospital, the police said.

The suspect is described in the University of South Carolina crime bulletin as 20 to 30 years old and approximately 5-foot-5 and 150 pounds.

Anyone with information is asked to call the Columbia Police Department or Crimestoppers at 1-888-CRIME-SC.

Staff writer Sarah Ellis contributed to this report

This story was originally published February 1, 2016 at 7:55 PM with the headline "Columbia Police seek ‘person of interest’ in reported rape near USC campus."