UCPD A frame grab from a video surveillance camera shows
a potential witness to two sexual assaults.
By Scott B. Wong
Daily Bruin Staff
University police released a video surveillance photograph
Friday of a potential witness to two sexual assaults which occurred
in women’s rest rooms in Schoenberg and Boelter Halls nearly
a month ago.
Police are not saying whether the potential witness is a suspect
in the case but have issued flyers that state the man is wanted for
questioning.
Police also would not disclose the date or location where the
surveillance was taken, but said it was not on the same day the
attacks occurred.
“During the course of the investigation, a tip led
investigators to a video surveillance taken from a location other
than the crimes scenes involved but in close proximity,” said
UCPD Detective Terry Brown.
The video surveillance had been “recently obtained”
by police, Brown said, but she declined to say exactly how long it
had been in police possession.
“The reason we are putting this photograph out is
we’re trying to get the public’s assistance to identify
and question him,” she said.
During the early evening of Jan. 10, two women were attacked
within an hour of each other in public areas. The first assault
occurred around 5:55 p.m. in a Schoenberg Hall bathroom. The
suspect apparently placed his hands over the victim’s mouth,
threatened and sexually assaulted her. The victim, possibly a staff
member, screamed, and the suspect fled.
Less than an hour later, at around 6:50 p.m., police said the
same man ordered a woman to lie down in a Boelter Hall bathroom and
threatened to rape her. The victim managed to talk her way out of
the situation.
The suspect in the case has been described as an African
American man in his late 20s or early 30s, between 5 feet 5 inches
and 5 feet 10 inches tall, and 170 to 200 pounds. The suspect is
also described as having a stocky build, medium complexion, short
to shaved hair and was wearing a light gray sweatshirt with dark
pants.
Though UCPD would not specify where the camera was stationed,
surveillance cameras exist on campus only in places where theft can
be a common occurrence, said Steve Davey, facilities commissioner
of the Undergraduate Students Association Council.
Some locations where cameras exist include the cashier’s
office in Murphy Hall and near ATM machines, Davey said.
Around 80 cameras have been installed in Associated Students of
UCLA facilities, including Ackerman, Lu Valle and Hill Top stores.
Cameras have also been installed in Kerckhoff Hall, according to
Gene Robinson, manager of security and loss prevention at ASUCLA.
The security system cost $500,000, he added.
“Cameras are primarily set up to overlook store areas in
relation to shoplifting and, unfortunately, to note employee
theft,” Robinson said. “But cameras are not set up to
monitor store customers to see who’s coming in or
out.”
There are no security cameras in bathrooms, according to
Brown.
The cameras are installed in “public places where there is
no expectation of privacy,” she said.
Anyone with information about the case should contact Detective
Brown at UCPD at (310) 825-1491 or (310) 825-9371.