When sophomore Alison Howard headed to Roy O. West Library for work on Aug. 8, she didn't expect her day to go anything like it did.
At 2:58 p.m., two DePauw Public Safety officers were forced to ask a man to leave the library after they received a call from concerned library employees. A standard run of the man's driver's license history revealed that he was a registered sex offender.
Registered sex offenders are a matter of public record, but since the University filed no criminal charges, the man's name remains private.
"Apparently the guy went down to the desk and made two advances on the women who were working at the circulation desk," Howard said. "Bad enough that they decided to call the police."
While Mandy Henk, coordinator of access services, would not consider the two incidents "advances," she did say that his manner was "outside the range of normal."
"At first we though maybe he was a book trade, [and] he was just really bad at his trade," Henk said. "He was asking us things that we are generally not asked to do."
According to Howard, the perpetrator had been coming to the library for a few days before being asked to leave and had not, in that time, been noticeably disruptive or suspicious.
Angie Nally, director of Public Safety, believes that the man was not on campus with criminal intent.
"I think he expressed interest in the library itself," she said.
Since Roy O. is open to the public, non-student visitors are perfectly acceptable. However, because of this man's criminal history and behavior towards University employees that afternoon, the Public Safety officers asked the man not to return.
"We take very seriously the idea that everyone should have access to library resources," Henk said. "However, we also have an obligation to keep people safe."
No criminal charges were filed after the incident, though the man was issued a "no trespass" order, Nally said. This order states that if the perpetrator returns to DePauw's campus he would face charges of criminal trespass, an offense leading to jail time.
Though Howard said she was "oblivious" while the proceedings were taking place, she admits to being "freaked out" by the entire situation-especially since she had been 20 feet away from the perpetrator most of the day.
"Looking back on it, I'm a little sketched out," Howard said. "When you're on the second floor of the library, you're kind of by yourself. No one can really hear you that well."
Nally is hopeful that the matter was closed successfully.
"He was issued a trespass warning and signed in his acknowledgement, and that is where it ends."
She is also hopeful that an incident like this will call attention to the importance of reporting suspicious persons to Public Safety. Though this particular individual was not from the Greencastle area according to Putnam County Sheriff's Department website (www.icrimewatch.net) there are 13 registered sex offenders within a two mile radius of campus.
"This is a good example of reporting suspicious behavior," Nally said. "If a person freaks you out, then call us."