Shower incident disturbs lacrosse team

An unknown male allegedly exposed himself in the locker room shower after the men's lacrosse team practice last Wednesday.

According to the police report, at 5:55 p.m. a student reported that an older male had dropped his towel, exposing himself. The suspect then began fondling himself.

At that point the student ran out of the shower and alerted a campus security officer, who then called the police. The police interviewed another younger male who witnesses saw conversing with the suspect before the incident.

The younger male, however, denied any connection to the suspect.

"The field interview didn't indicate a particular reason for their connection," said Tufts University Police Department (TUPD) Sergeant Doug Mazzola. "The man claimed the two had met casually in the shower,"

Mazzola did, however, have reason to suspect the two were connected.

After the field interview the younger man was then asked to leave and told he would be arrested if he returned to the grounds on charges of trespassing, Mazzola said. "The younger man had apparently come to the gym to use the shower," he said.

The older male who allegedly exposed himself was never apprehended.

Mazzola said that though incidents like this do not occur frequently, there is still a risk. "The reality is incidents like this do occur, particularly in athletic areas," he said.

Because the incident occurred in a shower, Mazzola said it can be hard to distinguish between typical shower behavior and what can be considered lewd behavior.

In general, this is elucidated through interviews with the victim and alleged perpetrator. "You have to be particular in how to interview the victim; it depends on what both the witness and victim say," he said.

Mazzola added that there are certain indicators which help clarify an incident. He cited conversation prior to the incident, or if the alleged perpetrator approaches the victim from behind as examples of possible indicators.

* Mark Philips