Man confesses to peeping in Wright showers

An IU student confessed to peeping over the shower stalls last weekend in Wright Harding restrooms after the IU Police Department identified him based on victims' descriptions, IUPD Sgt. Chad Bennett said, reading from the police report.\nThe man, a resident of Tulip Tree Apartments, admitted to two of the three peeping incidents, Bennett said, and IUPD filed an arrest warrant after taking a statement from the man Sunday night. He faces charges of voyeurism and was advised of trespass, meaning he will go to jail if found at Wright Quad within the next year, Bennett said.\nThree women reported to the police Saturday that a male, whom police later identified as an IU student, was peeking over the shower stalls in the bathroom at about 9 a.m. Saturday morning, Bennett said.\nThe first woman said she was taking a shower Saturday morning when she noticed a man looking over the shower stall at her, Bennett said.\nA second woman in a different Wright Harding bathroom said she was taking a shower when she saw "some sort of device above the shower stall," Bennett said. She did not know what the device was, but she said she thought it could be a camera and got out of the shower. She then saw a person running out of the bathroom and reported it to the police, he said.\nThe second woman's roommate reported minutes later that a man of similar description was near the bathroom after the second incident, Bennett said. The roommate said the man was acting suspiciously, quickly turning and going in the opposite direction. Her description of the man was also similar to the others.\nFinally, a third woman reported a man of the same description peeping through the gap between the stall door and partition while showering in Wright Harding.\nAfter police created a composite from the descriptions, IUPD received a call from Wright Quad on Sunday night when a victim reported that she saw the man by the food court. Officers found a man matching the description and the composite. At first he denied having anything to do with the incident but confessed after police interviewed him, Bennett said.\nPolice then released him and are now waiting for the prosecutor's office to indicate if charges will be filed, he said. \n"We released him ... because we didn't actually witness him do that," Bennett said. "We know who he is, and he knows that. He'd have to be pretty stupid to try to go back there."\nBut Wright residents remain concerned with security measures within the residence hall.\n"I took a shower today knowing that he had been caught, but you feel like you don't know if someone is there," said freshman Bonnie Seacott. "I've been to Ball State, and they are way more secured than us."\nFreshman Maggie Rupel said a man fitting a different description spied on her in the shower at Wright Lowe in October.\n"I was just taking a shower, and it was late at night," she said. "There was this guy standing there. I was just in shock."\nThe only way to increase security would be to lock all bathroom doors, requiring all residents to take a key with them to use the restroom, said Pat Connor, Residential Programs and Services' executive director. \n"I know some schools have done that, and they've gone to that level of security, and it's been met with some pretty strong resistance from the students," Connor said. \nAlthough that could be an option, Connor said he thinks the best way to protect residents is to have them be more proactive in keeping dorms safe. Connor said he suspects the man got in Wright Harding by following other students in the doors and reached the bathroom area because students often leave doors propped open within the residence hall.\n"I think it's much better to have students be engaged in how to focus their role on keeping their environment safe," he said.\nWright Quad held a meeting to address the issue with residents Monday night.\n-IDS staff reporters Brian Spegele and Joanna Barnett contributed to this report.