Police charge man with groping incident in UNC dorm stairwell, school says. What to know

UNC Police charged a man Monday in connection with a reported sexual assault on campus Sunday evening.

The university said about 5:30 p.m. Monday that the suspect had been identified and the “appropriate charges have been filed.” The university didn’t identify the suspect.

The UNC Police crime log shows a charge of physical assault with sexual motives.

On Sunday, an Alert Carolina said an instance of groping occurred around 6:10 p.m. in McClinton Residence Hall.

The alert about the incident was sent to students and staff at 10:41 p.m. on Sunday evening. The News & Observer has reached out to the police department to find out why there was a delay in the alert.

Police said the suspect is a male between 18-22 years old with short curly hair wearing sweatpants and a muted green shirt.

According to the alert, he allegedly followed the victim into the stairwell at McClinton before groping them and exiting through the lobby staircase.

The all-female dorm is on Country Club Road on the north part of campus. Formerly known as Aycock, it’s in a cluster of residence halls with Everett, Graham, Lewis and Stacy.

Under North Carolina law, cases of groping are often classified as sexual battery. Sexual battery involves unwanted touching by another individual for the purposes of sexual arousal, sexual gratification or sexual abuse.

Three rapes have been reported to UNC Police this semester, according to the police blotter. There has also been one instance of indecent exposure reported this school year.

This story was originally published October 2, 2023 at 12:18 PM.