Pubdate: September 25, 2000 Source: Hamilton Spectator (CN ON) Copyright: The Hamilton Spectator 2000 Contact: http://www.hamiltonspectator.com/ Author: Laura Cassiani COPS SUSPECT RAPE DRUG USED Police are trying to determine if a 14-year-old girl was slipped a rape drug before she was found barely conscious at the Ancaster Fair Friday. Police say the unidentified teen may have been slipped Rohypnol, which goes by the street name of Ruffies, a powerful sedative that has been used in sexual assaults. Last month, a 19-year-old woman collapsed in a Hess Village club after her drink was spiked with what doctors suspected was a powerful tranquilizer commonly referred to as Special K. She was not sexually assaulted. The drug Special K has also been linked with sexual assault cases. In the latest incident, emergency room doctors at McMaster University Medical Centre tested the girl's blood. Hamilton-Wentworth Police Detective Dave Beech said he would not release the medical opinion given to investigators. Meanwhile, police want to question the girl again. They also want to talk with some of her friends who had been drinking with her that night. Detectives were waiting until the lingering effects of the drug -- which include confusion, blackouts and gaps in memory -- to subside before getting a full statement. The girl had also been getting over the alcohol consumption from Friday which delayed questioning over the weekend. "We are waiting until she can be questioned," Beech said. Two security guards found the groggy teen on the fairgrounds at Southcote and Garner (Rymal) roads shortly after 8:30 p.m. Beech said the Ancaster teen was with a group of friends before leaving the fair at 5:30 p.m. The high-school student was on her way to meet another group of friends before she was found. Police are still trying to piece together a chronology of the night to determine when she may have ingested the sedative. "It's not really clear what happened between 5:30 p.m. and 8:30 p.m. but she was with people she knew throughout the day and night," Beech said. What happened while the girl was unconscious isn't clear, but Beech said "there were some comments made (by the victim) that have to be investigated." Investigators in the sexual assault unit have taken over the case. Further information is expected to be released today. - --- MAP posted-by: GD