3 police depts. probing abduction

Philadelphia Sex Crimes Division, the University Police department, and Bryn Mawr Public Safety department officials are continuing their investigation into Friday morning's abduction and rape of a Bryn Mawr student at the corner of 39th and Walnut streets. Philadelphia Sex Crimes Lieutenant William Broadbent said yesterday that his division is "actively investigating" the incident, which began on the edge of campus as the Bryn Mawr student waited in her car, and ended two hours later in New Jersey. Broadbent said he would not comment on the specifics of the case. Bryn Mawr Public Safety Director Stephen Heath, a former sergeant with University Police, said yesterday that he is hoping the three departments' separate investigations can quickly solve the case. Heath commended the woman for keeping a "clear head" throughout the ordeal. He added he believes that she is the one who suggested that they drive to Bryn Mawr College, probably hoping that a public safety worker at Bryn Mawr would see her, or that by being at Bryn Mawr, she would have more control over the situation. "She was using her head to try to move him away from harming her physically," Heath said. "That's one of the reasons that they wound up around here." "[Driving to Bryn Mawr] was a move on her part to get him to go to territory that she knew," Heath added "I don't believe it was his thought initially to come back to Bryn Mawr." During the drive from Bryn Mawr to New Jersey, the woman withdrew approximately $60 from an automatic teller machine near the suburban college's campus, Heath said. Heath, who left the University in 1989 to take the position, said that Philadelphia Police have released a composite drawing of the suspect and that Bryn Mawr Public Safety officials have distributed the drawing around the Mainline campus. "We don't have a prime suspect," Heath said. "The investigation is in the incipient stages."

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