String of Sex Assaults Believed to Be Related
The Metropolitan Police Department is searching for a suspect whom officials believe has been responsible for five sexual assaults in the Georgetown area dating back to Jan. 13, at least one of which was reported by a student.
All five incidents occurred in close proximity to the university in the Burleith and West Georgetown neighborhoods, according to a Sept. 9 press release. The suspect, as described in the release, is a white or Hispanic male, approximately 5 foot-10 inches to 6-feet tall, medium build, wearing dark colored pants and a collared shirt.
All five assaults followed a similar pattern, leading MPD officials to believe that the same perpetrator was behind them, according to the report.
“In each case, a female victim was awakened in the early morning hours by an unknown male suspect who gained entry to their residence by unknown means. The suspect has either attempted or has sexually assaulted the victims,” the release states.
The first incident occurred on Jan. 13 on the 3700 block of R Street, the second on May 16 on the 2400 block of Huidekoper Place, the third on June 1 on the 1900 block of 38th Street, the fourth on June 26 on the 2400 block of Tunlaw Road and the fifth on Sept. 5 on the 3700 block of R Street.
The assault on Sept. 5 was reported by a Georgetown student, reported to the Department of Public Safety that during the night, an unknown male came into her bedroom, got into her bed and put his arm around her. When she woke up and got out of bed, he left the residence.
Although MPD has not confirmed it as a sixth incident in the string of sexual assaults, on Sept. 25, a student reported an incident in Village A to DPS in which an unknown Hispanic male entered her apartment at 5:20 a.m. and laid on top of her. The incident was classified by DPS as a burglary.
“The suspect took a blanket from a bedroom and put it on top of the complainant, who was sleeping on the couch. He then laid on top of her,” the DPS public safety announcement read. “The complainant screamed and the suspect immediately left the premises.”
Oct 08 2008 at 1:34 a.m.
Absurd that he hasn't been caught yet -- this guy has been around since at least 2006. Exact same description, though he started out just standing in the rooms and watching girls sleep. He escalated to attempting to undress them and DPS was constantly reminding students to lock the doors. At the time, it was believed girls were followed home and he would lie in wait until they fell asleep.
Interesting that there were a slew of attacks back then, nothing happened, and now it's happening again: here's to Metro's effectiveness protecting female students!
Oct 08 2008 at 3:19 p.m.
I personally know two girls who were "tickled" in seperate incidents during the 07-08 school year and most likely by the same perpatraitor. For their own reasons,which i do not necessisarily understand nor condone, neither of them officially reported the incident. I have learned from my limited experience dealing with various forms of sexual assault and harrasment that the victims often find some sort of justification for not reporting the event or seeking retribution. I am begining to ponder just how large is the number of girls who, like my two friends, were victimized and failed to document the incident with any sort of official, whether dps, metro, an RA, or professor. I think the number of attacks is possibly a lot higher and more serious than the Georgetown Administration may realize and keeping their female population safe should be their primary concern, as such insecurity undermines everyday comfort and subsequently has negative affects on overall academic success. There is no excuse for allowing this guy to feel up sleeping students year after year and unfortunatly, the news reports claiming hightened securtiy by pointing out the empty dps car that is always parked in front of the main gates is just plain laughable. I don't buy it. Georgetown needs to step up, take action, and actually try to keep its students safe and happy.
Oct 10 2008 at 5:21 a.m.
This is quite ridiculous. Today we get another e-mail about a random person in a girl's bed in Kennedy. The funny thing is, Hall Directors and university officials KNOW about the legend of the creepy cuddler, and yet they do absolutly nothing to ensure the safety and well being of resident after resident over the years. Absurd? Yea, just a little.
Oct 13 2008 at 8:28 p.m.
It's easy enough to complain about the administration, sure, but what about the lazy student guards who never make anyone swipe their GoCard? Nobody seems to care about that.
Everybody knows you can walk into almost any building on campus and pass the guard desk without any problem while they sit there reading, working on their computer, talking on their phone, or (in some cases) even sleeping. I wonder how many times the "creepy cuddler" has walked right past some guard desk in SWQ while the student guard sat there and said nothing.
Everyone expects the administration to act as mommy and daddy, but the simple fact is that they can't protect the students from everything. Unless Georgetown students start to take their own safety seriously, these things will continue to happen.
Nov 14 2008 at 3:55 a.m.
I think it's clear the above poster is the tickler.
Dec 12 2008 at 3:05 a.m.
I'm buying my girlfriend a gun.