A Boston University student was charged with indecent exposure Tuesday following numerous reports of flashing other residents in a Warren Towers elevator earlier that morning.
BU Police Department officials charged the student after he flashed several other students, said BUPD Captain Robert Molloy.
“We were told about the problem, and we identified the student,” Molloy said. “He was then removed from the building and put in another space. He’s now currently being charged on several counts of indecent exposure.”
Molloy said the suspect has been relocated to another dorm on campus and is facing disciplinary action, including suspension or expulsion, at the discretion of university officials. The investigation is ongoing.
Sabrina Katz, a College of Communication freshman, said she was on her way to class Tuesday when the student rummaged through his messenger bag and his pants fell down.
“He picked up his messenger bag, and his pants fell to the ground and he wasn’t wearing any underwear, and he didn’t notice, I guess, because he didn’t really react to it,” Katz said. “… Around the 10th floor or so, somebody else got on the elevator and she looked at him but didn’t even acknowledge that anything was wrong.”
Katz said the suspect looked down a few moments later after his pants fell down, expressed surprise at his exposure and subsequently apologized to Katz and the other resident who had just entered the elevator. The student in question implied that the incident was unintentional.
Katz said she then exited the elevator and attended class without reporting the incident. She said she was initially amused by the incident, but then became increasingly concerned after speaking with several other female members of her floor.
She said a number of her floor-mates had the same experience with an individual of the same physical description that same morning.
“He [the student] was wearing red sweatpants and a white t-shirt, and was kind of chubby, not very tall — probably between 5-foot-6 and 5-foot-8,” Katz said.
Katz said her resident assistant heard seven different women express complaints of a student exposing himself to them.
The other eyewitnesses declined to comment.
“I found out that some other people on my floor had had the exact same thing happen to them,” Katz said. “We told our RA, and we went downstairs. This was around 10 p.m., and so we told the RA on call, we talked to a cop, and I guess they caught somebody.”
Katz said other residents in her building saw BUPD officials arrive at the suspect’s door on Tuesday night and subsequently removed him and his belongings from the building.
The Residence Life office contacted witnesses and their parents following the incident and offered them trauma counseling, Katz said she had not seen the suspect prior to the incident.
“It’s kind of weird that we’ve been living with this person for three months already, and nothing has been suspected,” Katz said. “Nothing has ever happened, but we’ve been living with this pervert.”
CORRECTION: This article initially stated that the Residence Hall Association contacted witnesses. However, the Residence Life office is the organization responsible for such duties. The article has been updated to reflect this correction.
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You meant to say Residence Life instead of Residence Hall Association. It’s the Residence Life office that deals with this kind of stuff.
I agree with Andrew Cho. Please check your facts. I remember when the Freep was a lot more reliable and professional.