Department of Public Safety officers detained a man last night after he was seen masturbating in a parked vehicle on Hope Street. Witnesses do not believe the suspect to be the same man who has masturbated outside a John Street house on multiple occasions this semester.
At approximately 10:30 p.m., two female seniors, both residents of that house, were walking north on Hope Street by Power Street when they saw a man watching them from an idling blue sedan, one of the seniors said. As they passed the car, they saw the man was masturbating. The students asked that their names be witheld so that the man cannot identify them.
The students turned on Power Street and called DPS. While on the phone, they saw the suspect drive north on Hope Street and turn left on George Street, one of the seniors said. Soon after, they saw the suspect driving north on Hope Street again, this time followed by DPS cruisers.
At approximately 10:35 p.m., the suspect pulled over on Hope Street by Young Orchard Avenue, one of the seniors said. Officers arrested him and searched his car.
Officers blinded the suspect so the students could identify him.
The senior identified the suspect as the man she saw in the car, but not the man she has seen masturbating twice outside her house, she said. Last night's incident occurred two blocks from her John Street house.
She described the man as medium height, bald and stocky. He is between 30- and 40-years old and wore a white T-shirt and jeans, she said. The suspect of previous masturbation incidents this semester is described as a white male in his 20s.
"I guess I feel disturbed that there are so many people targeting the John Street area for their sexual desires," she said. "But I'm excited that (DPS) caught him."
