On Sunday, September 30, a woman reported that a man, wearing only a white surgical mask, exposed himself to her as she was running on the towpath south of the South Harrison Street Bridge.
According to a campus safety alert, released by the Department of Public Safety, the incident occurred at approximately 7:15 a.m. The reporting party said that the man had hidden behind a tree and “revealed himself as she ran past.” Apart from a surgical mask, the suspect was wearing no clothing, and his genitals were exposed.
The suspect was described as a heavy-set adult white male.
Assistant Vice President for Communications Dan Day confirmed that DPS is investigating the incident, noting that anyone who may have information regarding the incident should reach out to investigators.
In a statement to The Daily Princetonian, executive director of Public Safety Paul Ominsky wrote that there is no further information about the incident at this time. In the statement, he encouraged people to take several safety precautions while running in remote areas, including running with a partner, running in more populated areas, and keeping a cell phone on hand to dial emergency numbers. The statement also noted that DPS offers safety classes that people can attend.
“Reiterating my letter to the editor on Friday, PSAFE’s mission is “community caretaking.” We stand ready to address any concerns members of our community may have," Ominsky wrote.
This lewdness incident follows a similar incident that occurred on the towpath in May of this year. A female student reported that a naked man had exposed himself to her while on the opposite side of the canal from her. He then proceeded to take photos of her on his cell phone.
In October 2015, another lewdness incident on the towpath involved a man exposing himself to a student. The suspect in this incident was “wearing a beige-colored, dirty surgical mask, grey sunglasses, a navy blue shirt and no pants.”
Anyone with additional information about the incident is encouraged to contact the Princeton Police Department at (609) 921-2100, the Department of Public Safety at (609) 258-1000, or a confidential tipline at tipline.princeton.edu.
This story is breaking and will be updated with additional information as it becomes available.