Diamondback Online - The University of Maryland's Independent Daily Student Newspaper

Issue date: 10/10/08 Section: News

Police are looking for a man who sexually assaulted and exposed himself to a female student in McKeldin Library Wednesday night.

The student was walking through the reference stacks near the information desk on the first floor of McKeldin at about 9:40 p.m. when a man grabbed her buttocks and began to masturbate in front of her, police said.

When the victim went to alert McKeldin staff, the man escaped out the front door of the library, University Police spokesman Paul Dillon said.

"We're stunned that this happened," said Kevin Hammett, a program management specialist at McKeldin. "It's certainly very disturbing."

Police describe the suspect as a black male, approximately 5 feet, 5 inches tall. At the time of the assault, he was wearing a blue baseball cap, thick glasses, a dark blue or black jacket and blue jeans.

Dillon said investigators are reviewing security camera footage from inside McKeldin and hope to produce video and distribute photos of the man.

There is no evidence the man is a student, Dillon said.Director of Planning and Administrative Services Jane Williams noted McKeldin's safety features, including police call buttons on every floor, maps near elevators showing the location of the call buttons, staffed information desks and signs reminding students and staff to keep an eye on their belongings at all times.

"Students should be aware of their surroundings," Williams said. "If you feel threatened, move to an area that you feel is safer, like by an information desk with a staff person or around other people. Try to stay with a buddy, and don't travel or study alone."

Several students found the incident shocking and repugnant.

"It's really creepy," junior accounting major Mamta Modha said. "There's tons of students there already, and it's scary to think, amidst all the chaos, you're not safe."

Modha studies at McKeldin a few times a week, and she said the incident will make her more cautious.

"It's OK to still go to the library," she said. "I guess you should make sure you're around more people instead of by yourself."

Sophomore hearing and speech sciences major Donna Zack-Williams, who anticipates all-night studying sessions in her future, said she may take some precautions, but she'll definitely keep coming to McKeldin to hit the books.

"I'll bring a friend with me," she said. "But I'm not going to let anyone scare me from doing what I have to do."

In April 2002, Robert Lee Scott, who was not a student, was charged with second-degree assault and trespassing when he ejaculated on a female student's back on the fourth floor of McKeldin while she was studying. Dillon said Scott is currently incarcerated in Prince George's County jail for an unrelated incident.

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