Campus Alert Archive
Barnard

Groping Outside Ruggles Hall: Barnard's CARES Department Issues 2023 Neighborhood Crime Alert

NYsexual offensetimely warninghigh confidence
Under Investigation

On Thursday, February 2, 2023, at approximately 9:31 PM, an unidentified person groped an individual walking on the sidewalk in front of Ruggles Hall (508 W 114th St) at Barnard College. The suspect was last seen via CCTV entering the 116th Street and Broadway area. Barnard's CARES Department issued a Fondling Neighborhood Alert under the Clery Act. The incident occurred on the public sidewalk immediately adjacent to campus property.

Alerts
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Response
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Killed
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Injured
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Institution
Barnard College
Private Liberal Arts · NY
~2,700 studentsBarnard CARES Crime Alert
Confirmed Timeline

Alert Sequence

1 message in sequence · 1 verified verbatim

INITIAL ALERTEmail
Verified verbatimBarnard College CARES Crime Alerts page (official archive), verbatim incident description from the February 2, 2023 Fondling Neighborhood Alert273 chars
On Thursday, February 2, 2023 at approximately 9:31pm, an unidentified person groped the buttocks of an individual walking on the sidewalk in front of Ruggles Hall (508 W 114th St). The unidentified person was last seen via CCTV entering the 116th Street and Broadway area.
Verbatim incident description as published on Barnard's official CARES Crime Alerts page; the surrounding Clery boilerplate that Barnard appends to every alert is omitted here to keep the quoted text to the portion confirmed word-for-word for this specific February 2, 2023 alert
The crime occurred on the sidewalk in front of 508 W 114th St (Ruggles Hall) -- a public property location immediately adjacent to campus, qualifying under Clery Act geography as a reportable location
Barnard labels this category 'Fondling Neighborhood Alert' rather than 'Timely Warning' -- an institutional terminology choice that specifically identifies fondling/groping as a reportable Clery sex offense
CCTV footage confirmed the direction of the suspect's flight (toward 116th St and Broadway) but did not yield an identification -- a common limitation in outdoor groping cases
The incident occurred at 9:31 PM on a Thursday near one of the busiest foot-traffic intersections adjacent to Barnard's campus (116th St and Broadway also serves Columbia University pedestrian traffic)
Barnard's CARES (Community Accountability, Response & Emergency Services) branding for its public safety function reflects a restorative-justice-influenced approach to campus safety notifications
Context

Background

Barnard College is a private all-women's liberal arts college affiliated with Columbia University, with approximately 2,700 students, situated on Morningside Heights in Manhattan. The campus sits along Broadway) at 116th Street, adjacent to Columbia's main gate -- one of the densest pedestrian corridors in upper Manhattan. Barnard has structured its campus public safety function under a distinctive brand called CARES (Community Accountability, Response & Emergency Services), which issues Clery timely warnings under the label 'Crime Alerts.' On the evening of February 2, 2023, at approximately 9:31 PM, an unidentified individual groped a person walking past Ruggles Hall at 508 W 114th St, a residence hall immediately adjacent to the Broadway sidewalk. CCTV captured the suspect departing toward 116th St and Broadway. Barnard classified the incident as a 'Fondling Neighborhood Alert,' a subcategory that reflects the Clery Act's designation of fondling as a sex offense requiring timely warning. The college's 2023 Annual Security and Fire Safety Report documents the campus's Clery compliance procedures and sex-offense statistics for the year. The Broadway corridor has historically been a nexus for such incidents because it is shared public property frequented by both Columbia and Barnard students, complicating jurisdictional response between the two institutions' campus security authorities and the NYPD 26th Precinct.
Analysis

Key Findings

Barnard's CARES branding for campus public safety represents a restorative-justice-influenced model where even mandatory Clery notifications carry non-enforcement-centric framing
The 'Fondling Neighborhood Alert' subcategory demonstrates that fondling/groping is a Clery-reportable sex offense requiring timely warning -- a fact not widely understood by the public
The sidewalk location (public property immediately adjacent to campus) is a textbook Clery geography edge case -- the Clery Act covers crimes on 'public property within or immediately adjacent to' campus
The CCTV footage of the suspect's direction of travel reflects standard post-groping investigative practice in dense urban campus settings where fixed-camera coverage is extensive but suspect identification is difficult
Outcome
No arrest reported publicly. Suspect fled toward 116th Street and Broadway. CCTV footage of the suspect's direction of travel was captured.
Provenance

Sources

  1. Official
    Crime Alerts -- Barnard College CARES
    barnard.edu
  2. Official
    Campus Alert System -- Barnard College
    barnard.edu
  3. Clery ASR
    Annual Security and Fire Safety Report 2023 -- Barnard College
    barnard.edu
  4. Official
    CARES -- Barnard College
    barnard.edu
Tags
sexual-offensefondlinggropingtimely-warningbarnard-collegeprivate-liberal-artsnew-yorkmanhattanwomens-collegeclery-actmorningside-heightscctvUnder Investigation
Added May 2026Updated June 2026Via ingestion