Lewdness reported in women's locker room

The incident took place on Oct. 5 between 5:45 p.m. and 9 p.m., according to a letter from Public Safety that was attached to McDermott’s e-mail. The videos were later discovered by the phones’ owners, none of whom were identified in the e-mail.

“Public Safety’s preliminary investigation revealed two west basement hallway doors with direct access to the women’s locker room are being left unlocked for convenience,” Public Safety officials wrote. “Leaving the doors unlocked circumvents the locker room’s access control system and exposed the community to an increased safety risk.”

“In a community as safe as ours a contributing factor in most incidents of crime is a false sense of security where convenience becomes more important than crime prevention,” the officials continued.

McDermott wrote that the “incident obviously demonstrates the need to keep those doors locked at all times for your own safety and the security of your personal belongings.”

Abby Hewitt ’13, a member of the women’s track and field and cross country teams, said she thought the inconvenience of locking the doors was worth the extra security.

“I don’t really like [that this incident happened],” she explained. “I think that it would be good to take some extra precautions to make sure that it doesn’t happen again.”

Patrolman James Lanzi, Public Safety’s investigative contact for the case, could not be reached for comment over the weekend.

A similar incident occurred in April 2007, when members of the men’s lacrosse team discovered an unidentified male hiding in the men’s bathroom stalls at Caldwell and taking pictures of the athletes in various states of undress. The team and an on-site staff member confronted him as he exited the bathrooms and then chased him from the area. The perpetrator was never identified.