By: Ally Doty
Campus police have tightened security at the Pensacola campus library after an unidentified man has been seen committing lewd acts several times over the last few weeks.
A white male, with a medium build and short dark hair from age 18-25, was seen by a female PSC student on Oct. 10 in a corner on the second floor masturbating. The woman was reportedly so shocked that she did not report the incident at the time.
“The first suspect that saw it didn’t come forward and say anything until another person came to us and told us what had happened,” Librarian Margaret Henderson said. “They came down and told us together, but we had nothing but a description to go by.”
The man was seen again on Nov. 7 by a different woman, who reported seeing a man with the same description again engaging in the crime.
On Nov. 12, there were two more incidents reported on the second floor. One witness took video of the man while he was engaged in the lewd act and gave it to Librarian Lisa Bartusik.
Bartsuik immediately alerted the on-campus police, but when they arrived, the man was gone.
After four sexual-misconduct incidents, an alert was sent out to all PSC staff and students to be alert and to keep an eye out for the suspect.
“We want students to be more aware of their surroundings,” Bartsuik said. “And we don’t want students to hesitate to speak up if they see something suspicious. It is important for students to report incidents like this.”
The library is now under tighter security to ensure students feel safe while studying and to locate the suspect.
“We have asked for a security guard to be present at all times, and we have begun to patrol the library every hour,” Henderson said. “Each person goes four times every hour around the library and we make eye contact with everyone so they know our presence is known and everyone feels a little safer.”
Students with information about the suspect or who see suspicious activity, can call 484-2500 or report it to the campus police in Building 5.