A female student reported that a man indecently exposed himself outside Ruffner Hall the morning of June 16.
A second possible indecent exposure was reported outside Newcomb Hall at 5:30 p.m. the same day.
The female student said she saw a man masturbating on a bench outside Ruffner Hall at 7:55 a.m., according to University Police Captain Michael Coleman. By the time police reached the site the suspect had disappeared.
Coleman said the second incident was a "secondhand report." The person who reported the indecent exposure heard about it from an "older man and a younger female," who said they saw a man masturbating outside Newcomb Hall.
The female student described the suspect as a light-skinned black male in his 20's. The second report also described the subject as a black male, but Coleman said he did not know yet if the two incidents are related.
"There's no way I can tell if it's the same guy," Coleman said.
"In the summertime, we normally have a couple" of incidents like these, he said.
"It's somewhat unusual to have [indecent exposures] early in the morning," he added. "They're usually in the late afternoon to early evening."
Coleman said it is important to call the police right away if you see an indecent exposure. That way the police have a chance to catch the suspect before he leaves.
"There are 170 emergency phones around Grounds," Coleman said.
Sexual assault education coordinator Claire Kaplan said people who masturbate in public usually do it for the horrified reaction they get from passersby.
Kaplan said if anybody comes across an indecent exposure, they should not be "hysterical," but sternly say something like, "put your penis back in your pants and don't do that again."
"He'll probably run," she said.
"Then run to a phone and call the police," she added.
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