New London Police say they have identified and made contact with a 20 year-old male suspect in a months-long voyeurism investigation at the College surrounding five different reports of female students being photographed in shower changing areas. Based on evidence seized from multiple electronic devices belonging to the suspect, NLPD says the investigation has now expanded “to include more incidents than have been reported.”
According to New London police chief Peter Reichard, detectives made contact with a suspect on Thursday, Feb 7 and “seized digital media” which included multiple electronic devices. Reichard says the department is currently conducting a forensic review of the suspect’s devices, but that the suspect has not yet been arrested. He said an arrest warrant will likely follow that review, but it could take multiple weeks to be approved by a judge.
Both NLPD and the College have conducted independent investigations, according to Ebony Manning, the College’s Title IX coordinator. Chief Reichard says the College has cooperated with the police investigation, but it is unclear what information was shared by the College. Manning said NLPD previously requested digital information for a digital forensics investigation. Manning has also said that the College’s internal investigation did help narrow down possible suspects. But Reichard said the College did not play a role in detectives making initial contact with the suspect and that the suspect had made themselves available to police. It is unclear what role either police or College investigators played in actually identifying the suspect.
A Feb 7, 2019 college-wide email signed by Manning and Campus Safety director Mary Savage informed the campus community that “the College has moved to separate the individual from the campus pending further action by police.”
For months, the “shower incidents” have stumped investigators and have scared students. Between Oct. 2018 and Jan. 2019, five students reported being photographed while in shower changing areas. Four of those incidents occured in Plant House bathrooms, and one occured in Morrison house, a first year dorm. Although police have said these five reported incidents were among others discovered during an ongoing digital forensic investigation, it is unclear how many more incidents may have occurred.
Some students who live in Plant House began to use a “bathroom buddy system,” according to one Plant resident. Multiple Plant residents have also said that one Plant House communal bathroom was given a locking mechanism to make it a private bathroom. But those students also expressed concern that if someone didn’t lock the door, a potential aggressor could then lock themselves inside with someone else.
After the fourth incident occurred in Dec. Grace Amato ’21 and Devon Stahl ’19 initiated a Facebook-based campaign called “Take Back Our Showers” in an effort to pressure the administration to take action. In a statement responding to the announcement that a suspect has been identified, Amato and Stahl said “this is a promising development.” They believe it is insufficient, however, saying that the College community “also needs to address the ways we are all complicit in contributing to an environment where this can even happen in the first place.”
Neither the police nor the College have named the suspect, only describing the individual as a 20 year-old male student. Since NLPD and the College announced that a suspect had been identified, rumors have circulated throughout the campus community as to who that suspect is. The College Voice has not been able to independently confirm the identity of the suspect.
Amato and Stahl have said they “hope a public release of the suspect’s name will give some peace and justice to the victims of the incidents.” •
If you wish to share any information that may be relevant to this developing story, please reach out to The College Voice at (email) or Alex Klavens at aklavens@gmail.com.
