STORY BY EMELY DE HARO, EDITIOR-IN-CHIEF
PHOTO BY MARQUES DERAMUS, STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER
On Thursday, Sept. 19. three female students at Cypress College reported being assaulted by a male suspect on campus. The suspect has not been identified and his whereabouts remain unknown.
The three reported the suspect forcefully kissed them and touched them inappropriately. The assaults happened around 1:45, 3:00, and 3:45 near the Library/Learning Resource Center, Tech Ed 3, and Veterans Resource Center.
The suspect is reported to be in his late to mid-30s with black hair, brown eyes, and visible tattoos on his neck. He was wearing a gray sweatshirt and hat.
Concerns are rising after an email with a subject line that read“Timely Warning” was sent to students and faculty from Marc S. Posner, Director of Campus Communications. After the Cypress Chronicle posted the breaking news on Instagram, more female students came forward claiming that the suspected male tried to make contact with them as well.
Jessica Gurule, a second-year Business Computer and Information Systems major, at Cypress, said “This situation has never happened to me before so after it happened I just felt very disgusted and paranoid… I kept checking behind me to make sure he wouldn’t follow me to my car. I called the campus security right after cause I didn’t want anyone else to go through that but sadly it did.”
In the past four years, there have been no reported assaults, sexual assaults or cases of fondling, according to the 2023 Cypress College Annual Crime Report issued by campus safety.
In 2022, there were three reported stalking cases and one reported stalking case in 2020, according to the report.
This raises the concerns of how students, especially female students, can protect themselves on campus. The Chronicle reached out to Campus Safety for comment but they declined to respond. In recent semesters, Campus Safety has been at the center of concerning situations on campus including a Buena Park Police Department and SWAT training that occurred without being announced to students, staff, and faculty.
The email urged students and employees to report incidents or suspicious behavior to Campus Safety and/or Cypress Police immediately. Additionally, students are reminded that Campus Safety can be reached 24 hours a day, 7 days a week at (714) 484-7387, and that it is important to program that number into their mobile phones for quick access.
