University of Hawaii at Manoa public safety detain suspect in sexual assault
Honolulu HI April 22 2019 A University of Hawaii at Manoa student was arrested after reported sex assault in the fourth degree. Police arrested the 36 year old Thursday night after two students saw him exposing himself.
The UH Department of Public Safety detained the man before police arrested him around 10 p.m.
UH Manoa students KITV4 talked to say they were shocked to hear of the incident but feel fairly safe on campus because they’re cautious.
“I would make sure that if there’s other people on the bus with me getting off, I’d walk close to them, not have my music really loud, and always looking behind me, to the side of me, making sure no one really following me and I would also text my friends,” Sana Keller, UH Manoa student, said.
“I usually choose the most well lit path and I walk close to the street side rather through campus so any cars driving by can see me if I’m in trouble… I wish it wasn’t an issue but it is and I think any female should be aware of their surroundings and be wary as unfortunate as it is,” Ana Velasquez, another UH Manoa student, said.
Velasquez also uses safety resources provided by the university like the Manoa Guardian app that allows you to submit tips to campus security. It even has a safety timer that’ll notify officials and your friend if you don’t make it to your destination on time.
There are 72 emergency call boxes throughout the UH Manoa campus. All you have to do is press the call button and someone from DPS will know exactly where you are, even if you can’t tell them.
UH also offers free walking and car escorts around campus after 6 p.m. everyday. One student hopes even more safety measures will be added at night.
“More people on guard, maybe filtering out who can be on campus at night or certain times because there are sometimes some shady figures that come right outside the dorms and that’s not really okay,” Zachary Oglesby, a campus resident, said.
The university reports the amount of sex offenses reported on campus went down from 18 in 2016 to 12 in 2017. It says it takes the community’s safety seriously.
University officials say counselors are available to anyone affected by this incident. They also said the student who was arrested could face disciplinary action including expulsion.
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