The drink is a deceptively sweet punch, powerfully spiked with alcohol and renders the girl incapacitated.

Unfortunately, this occurs far too often among college campuses across the nation and the above scenario is one favorited by serial rapists. In a 2002 study on “undetected rapists” on a college campus, researchers found that 6 percent of the college men surveyed were serial rapists with an average of six victims, and most began assaulting girls in high school.

In the first year of college, especially the first few weeks, a young female is at greatest risk of being raped or sexually assaulted. Female students ages 18-24 have a high rate of victimization, about 6 per 1,000 assaulted. In 80 percent of cases the offender is known to the victim, usually a “friend” or casual acquaintance.

That’s why rape or sexual assault usually occurs at or near the female college student’s home (38 percent) or a friend or relative (29 percent). Other area of concerns for young women are the parking lot or garage and in open areas or on public transportation.

Here’s what we know about the young men who are responsible for the bulk of rape or sexual assault:

• Men age 21-29 make up 51 percent of offenders.
• The majority (63 percent) are Caucasian.
• Ten percent of offenders used a weapon during a sexual assault.
• In about 47 percent of cases, the offender was under the influence of drugs or alcohol.

So why does this keep happening to young women?

Many of the men who commit these atrocious acts are never caught. Rape and sexual assault of female college students goes unreported an astonishing 80 percent of the time.

One important clue for women starting college is to notice how a man and his friends talk about violence against women. Stay away from men who have peer support for objectifying and victimizing women because this is a big risk factor for him to commit sexual assault.

Stay safe with these tips from RAINN:

1. Know the campus so you know safe routes to where you need to go (well-lit walkways with emergency phones). Have the campus security number in your cell phone, and know where the campus health center and police station are.
2. Stay alert when you’re walking around alone (no headphones blocking your hearing). Go with a friend, or ask campus security for an escort.
3. Keep your location private by disabling geolocation services on social media.
4. Trust no one – at least for a while. Get to know people before you let your guard down.
5. Keep your phone fully charged before going out, memorize a couple friend’s (or campus security) numbers in case your phone dies. Memorize the address to your dorm. If you drive, have a spare key hidden, a full tank of gas and emergency supplies (i.e. jumper cables).
6. Lock your door and windows when you’re asleep and when you leave a room. If the main door is propped open, tell security.
7. Watch out for your friends when you're out together.. Never leave anyone stranded..
8. Protect your drink: Watch it being made and poured, and if you have to leave the drink unattended, toss it and get another one. Don’t drink the punch – you didn’t see them make it!
9. Leave any situation where you feel more tired or drunk than you should. Seek medical help immediately because you may have been drugged. 
10. Lie or make up any excuse that will get you to safety. You are the most important person, and if you feel uncomfortable, pressured, or threatened, do whatever you have to do to get out of there.

To speak with someone who is trained to help, call the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 800.656.HOPE(4673) or chat online at online.rainn.org.

• Rape and Sexual Assault Victimization Among College-Age Females, 1995-2013, U.S. Department of Justice, Bereau of Justice Statistics, December 2014 
• Repeat Rape and Multiple Offenses Among Undetected Rapists
• Staying Safe On Campus, RAINN

The problem is these apps simply aren’t for children under any circumstance and can lead to tragic consequences.

On Feb. 11, a 44-year-old Arlington man was arrested of sexually assaulting four students in the Keller ISD.

Reports say the man met the girls through a website called Seeking/Arrangement.com. Other sites parents should be concerned about include Grindr, Tinder and KIK.

“The problem with these message apps is that it’s really hard to find the perpetrators after they use them,” said Jamye Coffman, M.D., pediatrician and medical director for Cook Children’s Advocacy Resource and Evaluation. “That information is difficult to find. So it can be very anonymous. It’s very dangerous for teenagers because they don’t really know who is on the other side.”

With the GPS devices on the apps of these sites, your teenage kid could give a complete stranger the location of your home. They may come into mom and dad’s home without you even knowing it. 

Coffman said that the reason for the bad judgment can be directly related to basic science.

“Teenagers and younger-aged children just aren’t able from a developmental standpoint to really grasp the consequences of what they are doing,” Coffman said. “Their frontal lobe of their brain hasn’t finished developing. Their impulse control is not very good. It’s up to the parents to know what their kids are up to. They have to know what’s on their child’s phone. Parents need to look at their phones and see what apps they’re using and talk to them about it.”

And with kids becoming more tech savvy in elementary school, the need for conversations about predators and sex must begin at an earlier age than ever before.

“The goal is to get them to adulthood, right? Where they can learn and make their own decisions,” Coffman said. “They do have to have natural consequences. That’s the only way they are going to learn. So you do have to let them have some consequences but you don’t want it to be something that’s either life threatening or life altering. As a parent, you can’t allow that to happen. It’s hard as a parent to talk to your kid about sex and the dangers out there. It’s really hard to have those open, non-judgmental conversations. It may be your pediatrician, if you aren’t able to have that conversation. But someone has to talk to them. It’s too important to just ignore the issues facing our kids these days.”

Parents, want to keep your children away from predators? Then be a snoop.

That’s the advice of Dr. Coffman, who is not just talking as an expert in caring for and knowing the signs of abused children, she’s speaking as a mom.

“Parents need to be nosy,” Coffman said. “Your kids may say, ‘It’s my phone.” But you’re paying for it. It’s what I used to tell my kids growing up. If you live in my home, there is no supposition that you are going to have privacy. There is no privacy if I’m paying your bills. I have the right to go in your room. I have the right to look at your phone. I have the right to look in your backpack. I have the right to look in your mattress and in the ceiling tiles and anywhere else you might hide stuff because it’s my house. I think parents are hesitant to take that role. They are so conflicted in what’s Ok and what’s not Ok for their child’s privacy. It’s just a concern for safety. If it’s something that’s a safety issue, you have a right to know.”

Jody Hawkins, Information Security Officer at Cook Children’s, seconds Dr. Coffman’s sentiments regarding privacy of children. In presentations that he gives to parents, Hawkins cautions parents to lay down the rule early.

“This is my phone, on my plan, and I pay the bills,” he said. “If you do not follow my rules, then I stop paying for the phone you are borrowing from me. If I stop paying, the phone stops working. It’s as simple as that.

Hawkins encourages spyware to be installed on children’s phones by the parents. He asks parents, “Would you allow your child to take a stranger into the bathroom, lock the door and have no worries? They usually answer, ‘No.’ I then tell them that if they allow the child to take the phone into the bathroom with no monitoring, they could very well be doing it all the time.”

It’s the world we live in today. If you want to protect your children parents, be a snoop.