The second reported sexual assault on campus in the last three Gasparillas was announced Saturday night in an unusual case involving a man from another college and two senior women who are roommate s at UT.
The incident was reported in Stadium Center at 10:40 p.m. Saturday. There were no injuries or threats of violence reported, security officials said.
‘I can’t provide all the details because it’s so convoluted,’ said Kevin Howell, assistant director of Campus Safety and Security.
The incident involved two women who are roommates in Stadium. A male friend of one of them was invited to their room and reportedly had sex with both women.
‘It’s an issue of whether it was consensual,’ Howell said.
Alcohol was involved, but Howell said those involved ‘weren’t drunk to the point that they were inebriated. They weren’t drunk out of their mind.’
The acquaintance of the man, who is a student at another Florida college, said she was the victim of a sexual assault.
Howell said the man had been on campus since that morning.
Names have not been released, but Howell said the two women are UT seniors.
Due to Gasparilla festivities, Campus Safety and Security had 29 employees, including Howell and Security Director Charles Mascenik working 12-hour shifts that day.
At 6 p.m. an officer stationed in each dorm required all people entering to sign in. However, in Stadium, Straz and Austin, officers monitored the lobbies starting at 4 p.m. due to complaints from RA’s about alcohol issues.
The students involved in the alleged sexual assault came back to Stadium before an officer was patrolling the lobby at 4 p.m.
Howell said that many non-residents started coming on campus on the Friday morning before the parade, but that security did not have enough staff to start making people sign in at that time.
‘We don’t have the manpower for it. We’d have to triple the size of the department to prevent all of that,’ he explained.
Howell said Gasparilla day alone ‘pushes us to the maximum.’
Tampa Police have finished an investigation on the situation. Now the case has been turned over to the State’s Attorney office, which will decide whether to prosecute the case.
‘It’s up to them now,’ Howell added.
Ellery McCardle can be reached at emccardle@ut.edu
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