Woman sexually assaulted in home near Georgetown University, police say

A woman was sexually assaulted by an intruder Sunday morning in her home near the Georgetown University campus in Northwest Washington, D.C. police said.

At least a dozen sexual assaults have been linked in the past three years to intruders in dormitories or in off-campus neighborhoods where Georgetown students live.

The victim was not a Georgetown student, the university's public safety department said.

Police said the incident occurred about 7:30 a.m., when an intruder forced his way into a house in the 3800 block of S Street NW.

The woman was apparently asleep and was awakened "by the suspect sexually assaulting her," police said. The woman began to scream, causing the intruder to flee, according to police.

Police described the intruder as a white man with an average build and brown hair. He was wearing a blue shirt, police said.

The street, about two blocks north of Georgetown University Hospital on Reservoir Road, is about 500 yards east of the French Embassy. The Burleith area, where Sunday's incident occurred, is home to many students.

The incident had similarities to the earlier incidents. In almost all of them, victims were asleep when the intruders arrived, and in some cases screams from awakened victims sent the intruders fleeing.

Descriptions of the intruders in the earlier incidents varied widely, as did the actions involved in the assaults.