PORTLAND (AP) – Two college students were raped after being given date-rape drugs, police say.

The two women are students at the University of Southern Maine and the Southern Maine Community College. Both of the attacks occurred Saturday night.

The two women reported what police described as “textbook symptoms” of someone who has been given a so-called date-rape drug.

“It’s an awful thing to do to somebody, to drug them and sexually assault someone, and it’s preventable,” Malloch said.

In the first case, a 20-year-old University of Southern Maine student was at a Danforth Street party with about 50 people were present. Someone passed her a drink and she began to feel disoriented, said Lt. Vern Malloch, head of the Portland police criminal investigations division.

Someone led her to a room, where she was conscious and aware she was being assaulted but could not see or speak or move, Malloch said. She eventually was able to leave the room, find her friends and leave, he said. She notified police on Sunday.

In the other case, an 18-year-old at Southern Maine Community College in South Portland was at a party where she was handed a drink. She quickly became disoriented and then unconscious, Malloch said.

She woke up elsewhere and realized she had been raped, Malloch said. He would not divulge the location. The woman reported the assault three days later, on Tuesday.

The woman was unable to give police details about the location of the party she attended because she is not familiar with the city, Malloch said. Police do not know whether both women attended the same party.

The attacks have prompted school officials and police to issue safety tips, such as going out only with friends and looking after each other, not accepting already poured drinks and avoiding situations that could leave a person vulnerable.

Police believe use of date rape drugs is unusual in Portland and it is rare that two such incidents would happen in the same night.

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