A 36-year-old man appeared in the Dunedin District Court this week charged with the burglary of a Cosy Dell Rd flat, three counts of violating a young woman and one of strangulation.
His name was suppressed and he remains behind bars, having not yet applied for bail.
A source told the Otago Daily Times the complainant woke early on February 4 to a masked man in her bedroom with his hand over her mouth.
The alleged violations took place over a protracted period and before the intruder made his escape, he forced the woman to wash her hands.
It is also understood the defendant took bed sheets with him when he left the address.
News of the alleged sex attack had spread quickly among Cosy Dell Rd residents and one group of flatmates, who spoke anonymously, said they remained on edge.
"We’re obviously scared, but girls shouldn’t have to live like this," one woman said.
"We’re students in what should be a safe area."
Among the various student flats there — which include "The Whitehouse", "Cosy Cougars" and "Ski Lodge" — were numerous posters advertising the fact the area was being monitored by CCTV.
Students had increasingly invested in security measures following reports over previous years of a "Cosy Dell creeper".
Last year, a 21-year-old high-flying academic was caught on camera tiptoeing around one flat’s laundry and later pleaded guilty to three burglaries and a charge of unlawfully being in an enclosed yard.
In December, he won a High Court appeal which meant his convictions were wiped and his name was permanently suppressed.
Most of the women who spoke to the ODT said they were aware of the street’s reputation before they moved in.
"It’s Queen St too; it’s kind of the whole of Dunedin, like, Studentville. There’s nowhere really safe because there are weirdos everywhere," one said.
They believed the lack of streetlighting and the reputation for female-only flats, however, had made Cosy Dell something of a hotspot.
But they were now sharply focused on keeping doors and windows locked and informing each other of their movements.
"I feel like a bit of a trend sometimes in Dunedin is something will happen and everyone will be wary for a while then things will get forgotten — then it happens again," one student said.
While police could not comment on the case before the court, campus officer Senior Constable John Woodhouse urged the influx of students to keep security "top of mind".
"Many students will be flatting for the first time and may not be used to being responsible for locking up and keeping a house safe," he said.
The man accused of the rape will appear again in court next month.
