A University of Minnesota student was molested while walking to her apartment in Stadium Village on Friday night, according to an email crime alert sent by University police Chief Greg Hestness on Monday morning.
The victim believes the suspect followed her as she reached the intersection of Fulton and Ontario streets Southeast at about 9:20 p.m., when he grabbed her on the rear from behind, according to the alert sent to University students, faculty and staff.
When she screamed and slapped his hands away, the suspect immediately ran east along Fulton Street Southeast, the alert said.
The victim was not injured in the incident, and Minneapolis police are investigating the crime.
Trespasser caught after hours
University police responded to a call on June 25 that a man had followed University employees into Rapson Hall, at about 1:30 a.m. — a time when people from the public are denied access to campus buildings.
The responding officer checked the entire building and found the man, who didn’t have an affiliation with the University, in the basement. A background check found he was banned from all East Bank buildings for having trespassed in the past. He was cited and released.
The incident occurred days after the University completed the final phase of its Building Access Program, restricting access to all of the East Bank campus during specific hours.
University police Lt. David Wilske said it’s still too early to tell if the program is effectively preventing trespassing, but he said an increase in police foot patrols around campus has helped address the problem.
When Wilske started at the University 17 years ago, he said trespassing on campus was a visible issue.
“As we’ve hired newer, younger officers who are maybe a bit more aggressive and have more energy, I think we’ve been getting a better handle on it,” he said.
Recent grad’s house burglarized
A recent University of Minnesota graduate’s Dinkytown home was burglarized between June 21 and 22, when an unknown suspect stole two iPods, an iPad and a computer from three of the house’s unlocked bedrooms.
“We’re not sure how the things were taken,” said Andrew Nordberg, a 2014 graduate of the Carlson School of Management. “There was no sign of broken windows or anything.”
Nordberg’s roommates had friends over until about 10 p.m., he said, noting that he doesn’t think the invited guests were involved.
“They were all people we trusted,” Nordberg said.
His roommates said they had locked all the doors and windows to the apartment before going to bed, he said.
There was no physical evidence left or any indication of how the suspect entered the house, according to the police report.
“I’ve never had this happen to me before,” Nordberg said. “We’re definitely going to start being more careful, and we’ll start locking our bedroom doors.”
