A female undergraduate was assaulted in her dormitory room at about 7:30 a.m. Monday, Public Safety Crime Prevention Specialist Barry Weiser said yesterday.
The suspect, Rufus Patterson, was charged with burglary and assault. He is being held at Mercer County Jail on $25,000 bail, Weiser said.
Police yesterday would not release the victim's name.
Patterson, a 32-year-old construction worker from Trenton and a former University employee, entered the victim's unlocked room and began looking for her car keys, said Princeton Borough Police Capt. Charles Davall.
The victim allegedly pushed Patterson toward the wall after telling him to leave. Patterson then pushed her to the ground, bit her neck and left the room, Duvall said.
The victim suffered scratches and a contusion, according to Davall. "She was taken to Princeton Medical Center, where she was treated and released," he said.
In a report filed with Public Safety last year, the victim claimed she previously had dated Patterson, Weiser said.
"Both knew each other," he said, adding that the victim once had a temporary restraining order against Patterson.
Because the suspect and the victim had a dating relationship, Patterson will be charged under New Jersey's domestic violence act, according to Davall. "The case therefore is sensitive," he said.
Weiser said Patterson, whom the University fired in March 1999, has been arrested on campus before. "We've had three cases on him before," Weiser said "She knew who it was, and we did too."
According to Weiser, Patterson was spotted on campus in November. "He just came back and caused problems with his previous supervisors and this particular person," Weiser said.
He returned in February and was arrested for criminal trespassing. A witness reported seeing him later that month, but Public Safety was unable to locate him, Weiser said.
Patterson also is wanted by the Trenton Police Department, Mercer County Probation and Princeton Borough Police on three criminal warrants, according to Davall.
"One was a violation of probation, which is an arresting offense in itself," Weiser said of the charges.
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