2008 Woodie Awards
City 'cuddler' assaults two women
Kellie Woodhouse
Issue date: 3/4/08 Section: News
When the victim woke up, the housemate said, she screamed and "kicked the crap out of him, and she was like, 'Who the hell are you?'"
"The police were asking her, 'Are you sure he wasn't at the party?'" the housemate said. "And she kept saying, 'Yes, I know who was at my party. I would know if this was a random guy; he wasn't hanging out at my house.'"
Both crimes on Hopkins were also similar for their brazenness. During the interview, the housemate said eight men had stayed the night after the party to avoid drinking and driving, some of whom were sleeping in the living room. Their presence apparently did not deter the suspect from entering the home, just as the presence of the other victim's boyfriend did not appear to keep the perpetrator away.
"It's scary - you feel violated," the housemate said. "You feel like, holy crap, someone came into my house and did this to one of my best friends."
Last semester, one student was raped and three more were sexually assaulted by a man police believe also committed a series of Peeping Tom crimes. In Sunday's crime, the man was described as being in his 20s, standing between 5 feet 10 inches and 6 feet tall, with dark eyes and hair, large eyebrows and was wearing a black wool jacket and dark pants during the incidents.
Davis said police aren't ruling out the possibility that the suspect is a student at the university.
Residents downtown said they were shaken after the incident and they hope police will catch the man involved soon.
"It's a serious issue that needs to be handled," said senior government and politics major Dan Andorsky, a neighbor of the groping victim. "Whatever they're doing isn't working," he said, noting the perpetrator hasn't been caught after three consecutive semesters of assaults.
"It's pretty scary; you think it would be safer here," said Elena Komarova, a junior mathematics major who is also a neighbor of the groping victim.
Davis said at the press conference that he wants students to know "we're very serious about stopping these assaults." He noted, however, that calling police right away is important to catching the suspect. In one of Sunday's incidents, the crime wasn't reported until 13 hours later, he said.
Davis added that he had plans to meet with the university about the incidents yesterday.
University Police Spokesman Paul Dillon said that at that meeting, police administration agreed with county police to coordinate prevention efforts downtown.
"Both agencies are increasing patrols in the area. That'll be great, but the likelihood - it's difficult to catch someone in the act," he said. University Police will also "conduct an operation this Wednesday with Prince George's and our [officers and] ... flood the city with officers and go door to door with an education effort."
Reporter Kyle Goon and editor Kevin Litten contributed to this report. woodhousedbk@gmail.com
"The police were asking her, 'Are you sure he wasn't at the party?'" the housemate said. "And she kept saying, 'Yes, I know who was at my party. I would know if this was a random guy; he wasn't hanging out at my house.'"
Both crimes on Hopkins were also similar for their brazenness. During the interview, the housemate said eight men had stayed the night after the party to avoid drinking and driving, some of whom were sleeping in the living room. Their presence apparently did not deter the suspect from entering the home, just as the presence of the other victim's boyfriend did not appear to keep the perpetrator away.
"It's scary - you feel violated," the housemate said. "You feel like, holy crap, someone came into my house and did this to one of my best friends."
Last semester, one student was raped and three more were sexually assaulted by a man police believe also committed a series of Peeping Tom crimes. In Sunday's crime, the man was described as being in his 20s, standing between 5 feet 10 inches and 6 feet tall, with dark eyes and hair, large eyebrows and was wearing a black wool jacket and dark pants during the incidents.
Davis said police aren't ruling out the possibility that the suspect is a student at the university.
Residents downtown said they were shaken after the incident and they hope police will catch the man involved soon.
"It's a serious issue that needs to be handled," said senior government and politics major Dan Andorsky, a neighbor of the groping victim. "Whatever they're doing isn't working," he said, noting the perpetrator hasn't been caught after three consecutive semesters of assaults.
"It's pretty scary; you think it would be safer here," said Elena Komarova, a junior mathematics major who is also a neighbor of the groping victim.
Davis said at the press conference that he wants students to know "we're very serious about stopping these assaults." He noted, however, that calling police right away is important to catching the suspect. In one of Sunday's incidents, the crime wasn't reported until 13 hours later, he said.
Davis added that he had plans to meet with the university about the incidents yesterday.
University Police Spokesman Paul Dillon said that at that meeting, police administration agreed with county police to coordinate prevention efforts downtown.
"Both agencies are increasing patrols in the area. That'll be great, but the likelihood - it's difficult to catch someone in the act," he said. University Police will also "conduct an operation this Wednesday with Prince George's and our [officers and] ... flood the city with officers and go door to door with an education effort."
Reporter Kyle Goon and editor Kevin Litten contributed to this report. woodhousedbk@gmail.com
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Viewing Comments 1 - 7 of 9
Chelsea
posted 3/05/08 @ 12:47 AM EST
Calling this criminal a "cuddler," even as a colloquial nickname, diminishes that his crimes are in fact serious sexual assaults and burglaries! Shame on the police and this newspaper. (Continued…)
Jayne Wayne
posted 3/05/08 @ 10:25 AM EST
Chelsea, I think you hit the nail on the head on both counts. Let's call a pervert a pervert, and hey, while we're talking about odd behavior, let's throw not locking your door in there too. (Continued…)
M
posted 3/05/08 @ 4:21 PM EST
No, Ruth, I never forget to lock my door. I live off campus, my door has three locks on it, and I lock all three of them any time I'm in the apartment, day or night. (Continued…)
Brandon
posted 3/05/08 @ 5:00 PM EST
I agree that locking your door is the best defense. These attacks, however, are not the fault of the victim. Honestly, you should be able to leave your door unlocked, unfortunately because we live in such a hell hole, you can't. (Continued…)
Doug
posted 3/05/08 @ 9:37 PM EST
"such a hell hole". You suburban white boys should see what America's real hell holes look like.
big al
posted 3/05/08 @ 11:01 PM EST
Hell hole it ain't. I really want to live in these places where people leave their houses wide open. Not just because I'd like to rob them, but I think these utopia's are few and far between. (Continued…)
McNulty
posted 3/09/08 @ 4:06 PM EST
Victims are not responsible for the actions of the person guilty of the crime against them. But, victims need to live with the fact that they were complicit in creating the circumstances surrounding their victimhood. (Continued…)
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