Students assaulted in Village and Massell
by Noah Bein
News | 12/6/05
Posted online at 11:02 AM EST on 12/6/05
Three female students reported they were assaulted in their dorm rooms early Saturday morning, according to Director of Public Safety Ed Callahan
Charlotte Benham '07, who lives in the Village and wanted to be identified, told the Justice she was physically assaulted in her room by a white male, and three students in Shapiro Hall in Massell Quad reported an assailant of similar description entering their rooms about the same time, Callahan said. Two of those students in Shapiro told police the suspect touched them while they were asleep.
Police began questioning witnesses of the Village incident immediately afterward, and friends of Benham the next day, Callahan and the victim said. Though substantially less information is available regarding the incidents in Shapiro, the Brandeis and Waltham Police presence on campus was visibly heightened throughout the weekend and yesterday.
Callahan said that while the suspect in the Shapiro incidents "possibly" fits the description of the person in the Village, he was "not 100 percent sure" the attacks were connected.
Benham said she was reading in bed when a man entered her room and carefully closed the door so it wouldn't slam.
"As soon as I realized it wasn't someone I knew, I said, 'Hey, what are you doing?'" Benham said. "He grabbed me out of bed. I was only wearing my underwear. He grabbed me around the waist, then he started punching me full-on in the face."
Benham said she kicked the suspect in the stomach and tried to push him away.
"He sort of had me half on the bed, and then he suddenly dropped me and ran out of the room," Benham said.
Arjan Singh Flora '07, who lives on the same floor as Benham and had accidentally allowed the suspect into the building, came into Benham's room right after the attack.
"I find her there with her face completely bruised, bloodied, blood coming from her nose and her mouth," he said. "I believe she was naked because she was kind of hiding behind the door. [Benham] said that she had no clue who it was. She was just in shock. She didn't know what was going on."
Charlotte Benham '07, who lives in the Village and wanted to be identified, told the Justice she was physically assaulted in her room by a white male, and three students in Shapiro Hall in Massell Quad reported an assailant of similar description entering their rooms about the same time, Callahan said. Two of those students in Shapiro told police the suspect touched them while they were asleep.
Police began questioning witnesses of the Village incident immediately afterward, and friends of Benham the next day, Callahan and the victim said. Though substantially less information is available regarding the incidents in Shapiro, the Brandeis and Waltham Police presence on campus was visibly heightened throughout the weekend and yesterday.
Callahan said that while the suspect in the Shapiro incidents "possibly" fits the description of the person in the Village, he was "not 100 percent sure" the attacks were connected.
Benham said she was reading in bed when a man entered her room and carefully closed the door so it wouldn't slam.
"As soon as I realized it wasn't someone I knew, I said, 'Hey, what are you doing?'" Benham said. "He grabbed me out of bed. I was only wearing my underwear. He grabbed me around the waist, then he started punching me full-on in the face."
Benham said she kicked the suspect in the stomach and tried to push him away.
"He sort of had me half on the bed, and then he suddenly dropped me and ran out of the room," Benham said.
Arjan Singh Flora '07, who lives on the same floor as Benham and had accidentally allowed the suspect into the building, came into Benham's room right after the attack.
"I find her there with her face completely bruised, bloodied, blood coming from her nose and her mouth," he said. "I believe she was naked because she was kind of hiding behind the door. [Benham] said that she had no clue who it was. She was just in shock. She didn't know what was going on."
