On Thursday, April 11, at approximately 7:56 p.m., Longwood University Police Department (LUPD) made an arrest in connection to an incident of indecent exposure and sexual harassment that occurred in various locations on-and off-campus at Longwood University.
At approximately 1:28 a.m. on April 11, the LUPD was notified of a black male sitting on a table at the Longwood Landings openly masturbating, according to a crime report posted on the Longwood University Police Department page on the Longwood University website.
The subject was described as in his early 20s wearing an orange shirt, blue jeans and a wide rim ball cap.
At approximately 7:41 a.m., the LUPD was notified of a black male exposing inside Dorrill Dining Hall (D-Hall). At 9:52 a.m., it was reported that man with a similar physical description was seen near Wynne Drive, according to the crime report.
Ray Ostrander, sergeant at the LUPD, stated that the subject has been charged “for several offenses.”
Before the incident at -Hall, Miranda Gibson, a freshman English major, spoke of an incident where the subject allegedly approached her at approximately 7:30 a.m. at Beale Plaza before he left the scene to enter Hiner Hall.
Gibson stated that she had been on her way to class when the subject approached her.
“He decided that he wanted to be closer to me,” said Gibson. “So, I excused myself from the situation to find that he was following me.”
She added, “He then decided to grab a hold of me and pull me closer, and continue to express how he needed things to get off his chest. He needed stress relief and kept expressing how he needed more ‘female company,’ and then he then expressed how he wanted somewhere private to go.”
Gibson stated that the subject had attempted to lead her towards Chi Tunnel, a walking pathway in between Ruffner Hall and Tabb Hall.
Gibson asked the subject to stop touching her, and she stated that he did so when she told him that she was waiting for someone.
“He decided to just follow, but did not touch me after that,” said Gibson.
Annette Waggoner, lecturer in Spanish, was a witness to the event. She stated that at the time of the event, she was walking to Grainger Hall and had seen the subject with Gibson.
Waggoner said, “There next to the little plaza, my student — she was walking and this guy was beside her, and I thought it was really odd, their body language.”
Waggoner described Gibson as slightly hunched over in a protective stance during this.
Before the subject left for Hiner Hall, Gibson reported that the subject told her
that he would wait for her after class.
Describing Gibson’s state after the incident, Waggoner said, “She was really shaken. She was uncomfortable. She was afraid.”
“I was terrified,” Gibson added. “I was paralyzed with fear to the point where I didn’t make any quick decisions, and I honestly regret that.”
Waggoner said that she immediately advised Gibson to report the incident to the police.
At around 5:15 p.m., the Farmville Police Department arrived in Hiner Hall, according to Waggoner. During this, she brought Gibson to the police for them to hear the incident she had with the subject and to give any physical details on the man. Only a few hours later, the subject was arrested, and Gibson identified the subject in a line-up.
After the incident, Waggoner notified students in her classes of the incident. “I was concerned for my female students,” said Waggoner, who later stated, “Knowing that these students go out at night or go to the library, it concerns me, and I would like to see maybe more police presence on campus.”
When discussing the incident with her students, Waggoner said that a few of her students shared some similar experiences they had while on campus that the students had not reported to the police. Waggoner stated that one student said that a male approached her to ask to have sexual relations with her in the bathroom. Another incident Waggoner spoke of involved a student waking up late at night to a male standing beside her bed.
“It’s really hard for them because they feel vulnerable in a place that is supposed to be — I don’t know — that you feel comfortable because it’s your university, and you love it, so you need to feel that you’re protected,” Waggoner said.
Gibson stated, “Before that, I felt safe. The reality of all that didn’t really sink in, but now I’m pretty shaken when it comes to nighttime. I end up pulling mace. It’s completely still on safe mode, but it’s more of a security blanket now when I go out alone.”
Gibson added, “I mean, knowing that he was caught in just the same day, I’m perfectly happy knowing that, so it’s not like I will be terrified of leaving outdoors or anything.”
When asked how there may be ways to prevent similar incidents in the future,
Ostrander said that due to Longwood University being an open campus, there is no way to directly prevent such incidents without students reporting them.
When asked the same question, Waggoner agreed that it is incredibly difficult to know the best way to protect against similar future incidents on an open campus. She noted that metal detectors within the entrances of each building may assist.
For similar incidents that may happen, Waggoner advised students “never to be quiet and to help one another.”
Gibson advised students to maintain a buddy system, to carry pepper spray and to avoid bystander effect by always offering help when seeing another in danger.
“I waited too long,” said Gibson. “I honestly led him too close to me. I should have screamed immediately. I should have acted out obnoxiously just to get attention because he came on too close, where if he had been armed or anything, I would have been abducted then and there.”
