Groping, Indecent Exposure Suspect Caught Near UT-Austin Campus

AUSTIN, TX — A suspect wanted in connection to a groping incident and a separate report of indecent exposure was arrested on Tuesday, University of Texas at Austin police said.

Law enforcement officials wrote in a press advisory that campus police responded to a report of a student having been groped from behind while walking along the 2100 block of Speedway. Shortly after that incident that occurred just before noon, police received another report related to a possible indecent exposure in the Normal Hackerman Building on campus, police added.

Responding officers located a man matching the description of the suspect before arresting him on charges of assault by contact and failure to identify himself to police. UT police noted the suspect is not affiliated with the university.

As detectives continue their investigation, they urge anyone with information to contact them by calling (512) 471-4441 and then selecting extension 9.

As is their custom after each criminal incident involving a member of the UT-Austin community, campus police urged students who may have been victimized by crime or know someone who has to visit the student emergency services page.

Moreover, campus police added, the Victims Advocate Network supports UT employees, staff, students, and visitors who have been the victim of a crime. For more information, visit the Victims Advocate Network page.

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The incident comes at a high of heightened alert following a series of recent crime-related incidents involving students. The string of incidents involving students have renewed calls for enhanced campus security in a way not seen since the murder of student Haruka Weiser in 2016 — a freshman ballet major who was sexually assaulted and strangled by a homeless youth along a dark path lining a stretch of Waller Creek running through campus as she walked back to her dorm room.

Among the recent incidents:

• In late January, two of five victims of a knifing attack in downtown Austin were confirmed to be UT-Austin students. A woman described as a transient later was arrested in the aftermath of the attack. All of the victims sustained non-life-threatening injuries.
• Also in January, campus police received a report of a robbery at an off-campus student housing building. The incident at 2807 Rio Grande St. is believed to have occurred in the early morning hours on a recent Saturday when the residents weren't home.
• Late last year, two sexual assault outcries in as many weeks were reported. Campus police said the most recent incident in early December occurred at around 1 a.m. in the Jester dormitory. Just one week before that on Nov. 24, police confirmed they were investigating a report of a sexual assault said to have occurred at a student housing complex at 2500 Pearl St. not far from the main campus, near North Lamar Boulevards in West Campus.
• In October 2019, a UT-Austin student told police she was robbed on a Saturday afternoon after being approached by a man who threatened her with violence if she didn't give him money, campus police said. The student said a transient man approached her along the 300 block of West 21st Street near Guadalupe Street at 2:20 p.m. demanding money. She handed the man her debit card before running away to call police, officials said. The suspect later was located by police.

• Earlier in October 2019, police received multiple reports of a man accosting woman while trying to grab them near campus. The incidents occurred near the intersection of Dean Keeton and San Jacinto streets, according to police. Police released a description of the suspect with instructions on contacting them should anyone spot him.
• That same month, police arrested a man alleged to have committed an armed robbery against a UT-Austin student before being released when the supposed victim stopped cooperating with an investigation. The incident occurred at a liquor store at 709 W. 22nd St., according to a complainant making claims of having been assaulted by an armed suspect. Ultimately, the suspect in the case — who was unarmed, despite the purported victim's claims — was released by police who determined the incident was the unraveling of a drug transaction gone awry.

The string of recent incidents prompted UT-Austin President Gregory L. Fenves to vow the implementation of enhanced security measures on campus — a pledge similar to one made after Weiser's murder on campus. Patch on Jan. 27 requested a list of security enhancements made following the student's death, but has yet to receive a substantive response.