Harassment alleged at Van Pelt Library

A man was scheduled to be arraigned last night for alleged sexual harassment in Van Pelt Library.

Eber Devine, 30, was to be charged with burglary, criminal trespass, indecent assault, simple assault, false imprisonment, unlawful restraint and sexual harassment.

The incident occurred the morning of July 3, when Aleshia Endy, 22, of Conshohocken, said she came to the library for a job interview.

In an interview, Endy said that she had found a posting on craigslist.com the day before, in which Devine claimed to be the CEO of a company called the Modelelite Modeling Agency and said he was looking for a female office manager and personal assistant.

He also asked that applicants provide a picture along with their resume.

An e-mail Endy supplied to The Summer Pennsylvanian by Devine in response to her resume said that Endy "definitely [has] the look we want" and requested an interview with her.

Endy said that Devine requested Van Pelt because he claimed to be in the middle of moving his office.

She said she arrived at Van Pelt at about 10 a.m. July 3 and was met by Devine at the lobby, and the two proceeded to a private study room on the third floor.

Endy said that Devine had her fill out an application and was "asking me the normal" questions.

According to Endy, the interview ended with Devine saying "I'm just going to give you the position."

However, she said she became suspicious when Devine held another interview with her present.

After that person left, she said that she told Devine that she had to leave, and as he was walking her out of the study room "he leans in and starts talking really sick and perverted and then he tells me to stand up, walk around, go stand in the corner, let me see your ass."

Endy said she the attempted to leave, but Devine blocked the door and touched her arm, ran his fingers across her breast and started breathing heavily on her.

Endy then succeeded in leaving and dissuaded another woman she met on the elevator from going through with an interview scheduled with Devine.

She said, though, that Endy persisted in leaving messages on her cell phone and the phones of the other women interviewed.

Endy filed a police report with Penn the next day.

Police at the Philadelphia Special Victims Unit said Devine turned himself in at about 11 p.m. Tuesday.

Endy also said that Devine claimed to be an alumnus of Penn and showed her an alumni card during her interview.

While Penn Division of Public Safety spokeswoman Karima Zedan wouldn't confirm whether Devine was an alumnus, she did say that the library had been notified and his "electronic access control" to the library was revoked. A copy of Devine's ID was at the security desk at the library, indicating that Devine didn't have a working PennCard, and thus had to be let in by the guards.

An Eber Devine was listed as a plaintiff in a lawsuit against Penn Police in which he alleged racism that was dismissed in 2004. He described himself as a 2003 graduate of the College of General Studies, though Zedan couldn't be reached for comment late last night.

In The Daily Pennsylvanian, Vice President for Public Safety Maureen Rush denied that the Devine in that case was ever a student.

Devine, under arrest, couldn't be reached for comment, and his lawyer couldn't be determined. A number supplied by Endy that was at one time used by Devine was disconnected.

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