UPDATED: Victim gives details on quad break-in

Early Saturday morning, two women woke up in the Quad with a suspicious man in their rooms. Following the two separate incidents, Penn Police was notified and a UPenn Alert was issued to all residents of the Quad at 6:59 a.m., warning them to be on the lookout for a suspicious 5’7” Asian male with long dark hair.

As of Saturday afternoon, Penn Police detectives have successfully identified the suspect, a Penn student and Quad resident. His access to all buildings on campus including residential buildings has been revoked, and he is currently in custody of the Penn Police until his family arrives on campus to remove him voluntarily.

The first reported incident was from a female resident of the Quad, who contacted Penn Police at 4:58 a.m. The resident reported waking up in her dorm room to the suspect standing above her before he fled the room, according to the Division of Public Safety. Penn Police responded and were on the scene within 2 minutes. The resident was unable to give a description of the suspect.

At 5:02 a.m., Penn Police received a second call from a roommates Sarah Figgatt, a College freshman, and Christine Esserman, a Wharton freshman, who reported seeing a similar young man in their nearby Quad room. Figgatt, who spoke with the Daily Pennsylvanian in an interview on her experience, says she awoke at 4:45AM to see a young, Asian, dark-haired male looking through the door of her triple from the common room she shares with Esserman and College freshman Arlo Gordon. Gordon was not present at the time of the intrusion and Esserman was asleep in the other bedroom. Figgatt gave the description detailed in the UPenn Alert. 

Figgatt and Esserman both recall locking the door of their common room, however Penn Police did not find any evidence of forced entry. Figgatt said that Penn Police interviewed her several times from 5:02 a.m. until early in the afternoon. Within the hour after the incident, she was brought to identify two possible suspects within the Quad. The first man did not fit her description, but when she was brought to identify the second suspect, Figgatt said Penn Police “asked exactly how sure I was that he was the guy on a scale of one to ten, and I told them I was a six." 

Figgatt was later brought to the Penn Police Station to meet with the first young woman to call and to be formally interviewed by Penn Police Detectives. Penn Police later alerted her that the second suspect had confessed, and that he admitted to being intoxicated at the time of the incident, Figgatt said.

In one week, the suspect will return to campus for a scheduled appointment with the Vice Provost of Student Life to discuss his future at the university. He is cooperating with the police and maintains that all actions committed were unintentional. The two young women are aware, yet the identities of the victims and the perpetrator are not being released or confirmed at this time by DPS. Currently, no criminal charges are being filed.

DPS said that Quad security was not breached, and both dorm rooms were unlocked at the point of entry.

At 7:51 a.m., another UPenn alert was issued stating that all residents of the Quad could resume normal activity.

DPS’s Special Services are assisting the two victims, and Penn Police’s investigation will include further interviewing students, residential advisors and house deans to gather more information.

DPS urges that all students in the Quad keep their doors locked at all times to prevent unwanted intrusions.

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