The incidents have led to increased police presence on campus, police and the university said Wednesday.
LAWRENCE -- Two female Rider University students have been inappropriately touched by a male intruder as they slept in their dorm rooms in the middle of the night this month, authorities said.
Lawrence police are also investigating a third incident in which a male was spotted inside a sorority, but was chased away by a male visitor.
The incidents have led to increased police presence on campus, police and the university said Wednesday.
Rider University The latest incident occurred at about 4:40 a.m. Sunday, when a male entered a female student's unlocked dormitory room and touched her breast, Lawrence police spokesman Lt. Joesph Amodio said.
The touch awakened the student, who screamed and swung her arm at the male, which sent him running from the dorm, Amodio said. He was last seen on foot.
Police were called to the campus at about 5:25 a.m. to investigate.
The victim described the male intruder as a thin white male with dark hair who wore dark clothing.
Police are unsure how the male entered the dorm building, Amodio said.
While police were investigating the incident, they learned the campus had a similar incident Sept. 11 in another dorm, Amodio said.
PLUS: Second groping reported on Princeton University campus
At 3:15 a.m. that day, a sleeping student woke up when a male touched her shoulder.
That male also was last seen running from the dorm. The student's room was also unlocked, Amodio said.
Amodio said in that incident, Rider authorities were not notified of the incident until the next day, and Lawrence police were not initially contacted.
Lawrence police were aware of what they initially believed was the first incident, which occurred at about 4 a.m. this past Saturday.
A male was seen walking through a sorority on campus and when a female student spotted him, and did not recognize him, a male friend scared him away, Amodio said.
No students reported being touched or accosted, and Rider authorities were notified about 12 hours after the incident, Amodio said. Lawrence police were called to the campus for that incident, he said.
Incidentally, Amodio said, Lawrence police investigated a reported sexual assault on Sept. 18 at the campus, but detectives later labeled the incident as "unfounded" after speaking with people involved.
"We're working closely with Rider security and the Rider administration on this, and we have added proactive patrols to the campus," Amodio said.
Rider spokeswoman Kristine Brown said the safety and security of students "is our utmost priority."
"We address each incident on a case-by-case basis," Brown said in a statement.
"We have been working closely with Lawrence Township Police in their investigations, have increased Public Safety coverage until further notice, have communicated regularly with our campus communities, including parents, and we continue to meet with students to address their concerns and to discuss what we can do together to protect themselves and one another," the statement said.
Brown said Rider also strongly encourages students to lock their residence hall doors and immediately report suspicious persons or activities to the campus's public safety authorities.
Campus police at The College of New Jersey in Ewing alerted their students to the Rider incidents on Tuesday by email. The college's email alert said the Ewing college has not had any similar incidents.
At Princeton University this month, two young women have reported males grabbing their buttocks during daytime incidents in front of campus buildings.
Anyone with information about the Rider incidents can contact Lawrence Detective Joseph Radlinsky at 609-896-1111 or via email at lawrencepolice@lawrencetwp.com
Kevin Shea may be reached at kshea@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter@kevintshea. Find The Times of Trenton on Facebook.
