UCSD Police received three reports on Feb. 9 and Feb. 10 of lewd conduct in which four female students were approached by a light-skinned Hispanic man saying that he was studying “”foot reflexology”” and he needed to study their feet. The perpetrator would then rub himself in the groin area with the victims’ feet.
According to detective Nathaniel Floyd, the victims described the perpetrator to be five-feet-eight-inches tall, have a light complexion, medium build, short brown hair and brown eyes. The perpetrator was also described to be of college age, or approximately 18 years or older. According to Floyd, the man was last seen wearing blue denim pants, a light-blue shirt and a white checkered hat.
“”The physical description is pretty consistent in all the reports,”” Floyd said. “”At this point we have a pretty good description, and we want to get the word out to anyone out there in the community who may have seen this person, who may know this person, and come and give us a call so we can identify him.””
The first incident occurred on Feb. 9 near Revelle College’s Plaza CafÈ at approximately 3:25 p.m. in which the perpetrator approached two individuals. The second incident occurred on Feb. 10 at 2 p.m. at Lot 705. A third occurrence took place on the same day at 4 p.m. at Galbraith Hall.
“”The victims were in fairly crowded areas,”” Floyd said. “”They don’t appear to be alone during the contact. There are other people around in the general area.””
According to Crime Prevention Officer Alan Jenkins, it is also uncertain whether the perpetrator is a UCSD student.
“”I think that it seems so blatant that he’s trying to get across as a student, but he’s probably not a student,”” Jenkins said.
Both Jenkins and Floyd are encouraging students to be aware of the incidents and to contact the police if they have further information. According to Jenkins, the perpetrator would engage the victims in small talk and does not immediately appear threatening. According to Officer Kristeen McCollough, students should pay attention to their surroundings.
“”I think if they were forewarned about it, they would not have let it go as far as it did,”” McCoulough said. “”He obviously approaches the victims in such a way that is very convincing.””
McCollough also said that there could have been other incidents in the past two days that have gone unreported.
“”These are one of those things that people get embarrassed about, and they don’t report it,”” McCollough said. “”And maybe now that they hear that it happened to other people, we may end up getting more calls about it.””
Students with information or who would like to report a similar incident are encouraged to call campus police at (858) 534-4357.
