Two sex crimes reported near campus last week

Two sex offenses were reported to the Division of Public Safety last week.

Both offenses were categorized as “indecent assaults,” which, according to Pennsylvania code, is defined as “any touching of the sexual or other intimate parts of the person for the purpose of arousing or gratifying sexual desire, in either person.”

The first indecent assault case involved a 21-year-old female Penn student who reported at about 9:30 p.m. last Thursday that a man “was waving his arms but did not make contact with her breasts” on the 200 block of S. 40th Street, according to Vice President for Public Safety Maureen Rush.

Using a description of the individual obtained from the complainant, an Allied Barton security officer identified the man on the 3800 block of Walnut Street as he attempted to similarly reach toward two females at the street corner.

The individual was eventually stopped in front of Van Pelt Library, after which he was taken to the 18th District of the Philadelphia Police Department to be fingerprinted.

According to Rush, the man could not be charged with indecent assault because “the two females did not come forward to report the case.” Rush also added that there was a degree of uncertainty as to whether the man inappropriately made contact.

“The Allied Barton officer believed that, from the angle of his view, that the individual might have made contact,” Rush explained. “But it could easily have not been the case.”

In response to concerns of why Penn Police did not alert the community, Rush said, “We think he was just trying to frighten people.”

“We had him in custody; we know who he is and we don’t think we’ll be seeing him again anytime soon.” Rush added.

After warning the man not to return, Penn Police obtained a photo and fingerprints of the individual to identify him in the event of his return to campus.

All University-affiliated victims involved in cases of sexual offense are offered support services by the Penn Police’s Department of Special Services.

The second incident, which occurred on Sept. 18 on the 4000 block of Pine Street at around 4 a.m., involved a 20-year-old woman unaffiliated with the University.

The woman claimed she had walked from Upper Darby and was on her way to her sister’s house in North Philadelphia when an unidentified man approached her from behind and attempted to “reach under her skirt,” according to Rush.

The complainant was then escorted to Philadelphia’s Special Victims Unit where she was further interviewed concerning the incident.

According to Rush, the contact information and details the woman provided to SVU proved to be incorrect, as authorities could not reach her for a second interview in the following days.

“Due to the numerous inconsistencies in the woman’s claims and her false contact information, we believed that the incident was not a threat to the community,” Rush said.

As with any sexual offense, SVU will keep the case active for further investigation but could not proceed in this situation without further cooperation from the complainant.

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