The number of suspected drug-facilitated rapes has dramatically increased in Ames in the past month, officials say. Incidents rose from an average of one to two cases per year to three in a single month.

Heather Priess, Story County Sexual Assault Response Team coordinator, said possible drug-facilitated rape cases only occurred once or twice per year.

Julie Roosa, support services manager for the Department of Public Safety, said the first two rape cases were reported in mid-September.

The third case was received four weeks later.

Jerry Stewart, director of DPS, said the actual use of a date-rape drug cannot be proven in any of the current cases. Drug-influenced cases are distinguished from other rape cases by descriptions from the victims.

“[Date-rape drugs] pass through a victim’s system so quickly,” Priess said. “It makes it difficult to detect and confirm [their] use.”

Two of the victims of the recent rapes were female ISU students. The third victim was a female from Story County, Priess said.

Roosa said the cases do not appear to be related.

A person who has possibly been the victim of a drug-facilitated rape will typically have only one to two drinks but feel intoxicated. They may appear relaxed and report a period of time where they have no memory or may pass out. A victim may also wake up in a strange place without any recollection of how they arrived there, Roosa said.

“A loss of memory after consuming eight to 10 drinks is common, whereas [memory loss] with one drink is not,” Priess said.

Victims of a drug-facilitated rape will typically feel extraordinarily hung over or sick the following morning, considering the amount of alcohol they consumed, she said.

Priess said she wants the recent cases to increase community awareness.

The drugs, depressants, can be activated in water, soda or alcohol.

“We want people to know [about the risks of date rape drugs] because we are concerned and we want students to be able to protect themselves,” she said.