Racine police arrest man in relation to Gateway sexual assault

RACINE -- Racine police have arrested the man they believe sexually assaulted a 36-year-old woman at Gateway Technical College. 26-year-old Ronald Cephus was arrested during the afternoon on February 22nd.

The 36-year-old victim told police the suspect followed her into a restroom in the Lake building of the Gateway campus just before noon on Tuesday, February 21st. He then sexually assaulted her and left. The woman spoke with FOX6 Wednesday about the incident. She says though she knows the suspect is locked up, she's still scared to get on the bus to go to school at Gateway.

The woman told FOX6 it all started when the suspect approached her at a bus stop as she was heading to Gateway. She says the man saw her Gateway ID and rode his bicycle to the college. There, he tracked her down. "I went into a building, went to the bathroom, and he followed me right in there, and then started attacking me," the woman told FOX6.

The woman says the man pulled her pants down and sexually assaulted her. "I was too scared to do anything. Gateway is supposed to make us feel safe, and I don't feel safe," the woman said.

Officers were able to get a detailed description of the bicycle used by the Cephus.

Shortly after 12:30 p.m. on Wednesday, February 22nd, an investigator spotted a person who closely matched the description of the suspect, riding a bicycle matching the suspect’s, in the area of State St. and North Memorial Dr. 26-year-old Ronald Cephus was stopped and transported to the Racine Police Department. Cephus has been taken into custody and is considered a person of interest in this incident.

Racine Police investigators are interested in any additional information that you may have about this crime. You are urged to call the Racine Police Department at 262-635-7700 and ask for the Investigations Unit, or Crimestoppers at 262-636-9330, or by texting RACS plus the message to CRIMES (274637) and referring to Tipsoft I.D. #TIP417 with your text message.

The Gateway campus has been notified of this incident, and many of the students are how questioning how secure the college is. "This is supposed to be a safe, positive environment, and now I have to watch and look over my back," one student said.

Campus administration says this is the first serious incident to happen on campus in at least two decades. In addition to security cameras, they've brought on additional staff to patrol the campus.

Despite the added security, the victim who was studying for a cosmetology degree says her dream may have ended with the attack, unless the school adopts an ID check procedure.