Police in Harrisonburg this week reported a string of incidents in which young women have woken up to find a stranger in their bedrooms.
So far, 18 women have reported such incidents. According to Harrisonburg Police Sgt. Shane Brown, in each of the cases "the man asks for either a Jen or a Rebecca." When a victim informs the suspect that he is mistaken, "he is very apologetic and leaves the scene."
Five incidents were reported last Friday. After the initial reports were made public, 13 additional victims came forward. Brown said Harrisonburg police investigators are "currently operating under the pretense that all of these incidents are related."
The descriptions of the perpetrator -- a black male between the ages of 20 and 30, roughly 5 feet 8 inches tall and 150 pounds -- all seem to match, he said.
The cases are concentrated in and around the Port Republic Road area, an apartment complex popular among James Madison University students, Brown said.
Earlier this month in Charlottesville, an intruder broke into the apartment of a female University student and asked if she was a particular person. When told she was not, he fled the apartment.
Police have not determined if the Charlottesville and Harrisonburg cases are related.
"Any link between these cases and the incident in Charlottesville would be purely speculation at this time," Brown said.
But the Harrisonburg and Charlottesville police departments are exchanging information, he added. Charlottesville and University police declined to comment on the Harrisonburg cases yesterday.
Although none of the incidents were violent, Brown noted that all of them involved suspicious, "non-normal behavior."
Most of the cases involve only trespassing -- all of the apartments the perpetrator entered were unlocked. But for at least three of the incidents in which the suspect touched the victim, the perpetrator could be charged with sexual assault, Brown said.
"This is a crime of opportunity -- he did not forcibly enter these apartments," Brown said.
Brown urged students and other local residents to lock their doors at night and follow basic safety precautions -- and always report incidents of this nature to the police.
--Compiled by Margaret Bonner
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