RUPD to increase off-campus police patrol after spate of sexual harassment incidents

The New Brunswick Police Department (NBPD) is investigating four instances of sexual contact and harassment that transpired Monday night near the College Avenue campus, according to a University-wide email alert.

The four attacks occurred consecutively between 9 p.m. and 9:20 p.m. and involved four women who are affiliated with Rutgers.

In the first two incidents, the suspect inappropriately touched the women, first near the intersection of Bishop Place and College Avenue and then near Sicard Street and Stone Street, according to the alert.

The subsequent two attacks were unsuccessful in the perpetrator's attempts to touch two other women and occurred near Bartlett Street and Sicard Street, and later near Bartlett Street and Wyckoff Street.

The suspect is described in the email alert as a 5-foot-9 male of Indian descent in his 30s, wearing blue jeans, a long-sleeved white shirt and a beige hat.

The Rutgers University Police Department (RUPD) said it would increase its police presence in the off-campus area behind the College Avenue campus and reminded the University community to take safety precautions, including not walking alone during late hours.

The NBPD asks anyone with information or who may have been in the area during the incidents should contact the NBPD's Detective Bureau.