{
  "id": "2024-09-16-umass-amherst-residence-hall-voyeurism",
  "slug": "umass-amherst-residence-hall-voyeurism-2024-09-16",
  "institution": {
    "name": "University of Massachusetts Amherst",
    "shortName": "UMass Amherst",
    "state": "MA",
    "type": "public-r1",
    "alertSystemName": "UMass Alert",
    "enrollment": 31000
  },
  "incident": {
    "date": "2024-09-16",
    "endDate": "2024-09-18",
    "type": "sexual-offense",
    "cleryCategory": "timely-warning",
    "headline": "Five Showers, Three Days: The Peeping Tom Who Sent Two UMass Dorms on Alert",
    "summary": "UMass Amherst Police issued a [campus-wide alert](https://www.boston25news.com/news/local/police-warning-students-after-several-reports-peeping-tom-inside-umass-amherst-residence-halls/GUESMY2HWJG37P4HB5QP5VUK5I/) after receiving five reports of a man using a cell phone to look over or record female students in shower areas of Grayson and Field residence halls between September 16 and September 18, 2024. Victims described a [college-aged white man, about 5'10\" with brownish-blonde hair](https://www.nbcboston.com/news/local/umass-amherst-police-investigating-reports-of-peeping-tom-looking-at-female-students-in-showers/3499677/), wearing maroon shorts and a black hooded sweatshirt in multiple reports, though he was not apprehended at the scene in any of the five incidents.",
    "outcome": "UMass Police actively investigated the pattern and asked anyone with information to come forward; no arrest had been publicly reported.",
    "resolution": "confirmed-threat"
  },
  "alerts": [
    {
      "sequence": 1,
      "type": "initial",
      "timestampApprox": "Issued after the fifth report, in the days following September 18, 2024",
      "channel": "email",
      "verbatimText": "UMass Amherst Police Timely Warning: Between September 16 and September 18, 2024, UMPD received five reports of an unknown male suspect using a cell phone to observe or record female residents in shower areas of Grayson and Field residence halls. The suspect is described as a college-aged white male, approximately 5 feet 10 inches tall, with short brownish-blonde hair, in some reports wearing maroon shorts and a black hooded sweatshirt. The suspect fled before officers arrived in each reported incident. Anyone with information is asked to contact UMass Police.",
      "isVerbatimConfirmed": false,
      "sourceDescription": "Reconstructed from Boston 25 News, NBC Boston, and Daily Hampshire Gazette reporting on the UMPD campus-wide alert describing the five reports",
      "annotations": [
        "Groups five separate reports across three days and two residence halls into a single pattern-based warning rather than five individual bulletins",
        "The suspect description, including the maroon shorts and black hooded sweatshirt, recurs across multiple victim accounts, which is why investigators treated the reports as connected",
        "Names both affected buildings, Grayson and Field residence halls, rather than describing the threat as isolated to one location",
        "The exact bulletin wording sent to students was not independently confirmed against an archived original, so this reconstruction is marked unverified even though it closely tracks multiple outlets' reporting"
      ],
      "characterCount": 566
    }
  ],
  "context": "Over a three-day stretch from September 16 to September 18, 2024, [UMass Amherst Police investigated five reports](https://amherstbulletin.com/2024/10/03/peeping-tom-reported-in-showers-at-umass-dorms-in-amherst-57248836/) of a man using a cell phone to look at or record female students showering in Grayson and Field residence halls. The first report, at 11:19 p.m. on September 16, was initially treated as an isolated incident. A second report came in at 3:40 p.m. on September 17 describing a man attempting to look over a shower curtain on the third floor of Field Hall, and additional reports followed on the sixth floor of Field and the fifth floor of Grayson. Victims consistently described a [college-aged white man, about 5 feet 10 inches tall with short brownish-blonde hair](https://www.nbcboston.com/news/local/umass-amherst-police-investigating-reports-of-peeping-tom-looking-at-female-students-in-showers/3499677/), and several reports mentioned maroon shorts and a black hooded sweatshirt. UMass Police issued a campus-wide alert once the pattern became clear, and [local television coverage](https://www.boston25news.com/news/local/police-warning-students-after-several-reports-peeping-tom-inside-umass-amherst-residence-halls/GUESMY2HWJG37P4HB5QP5VUK5I/) framed the case as part of a broader concern about video voyeurism in shared dormitory bathrooms nationally.",
  "keyFindings": [
    "Five separate shower-area reports across two residence halls and three days were consolidated into one campus-wide timely warning once the pattern emerged",
    "A consistent suspect description (build, hair, clothing) across multiple reports let investigators connect otherwise scattered incidents",
    "The suspect evaded capture in every reported instance despite the repeated pattern, illustrating how difficult in-the-moment apprehension is for this offense type",
    "Voyeurism and video-voyeurism in shared dormitory bathrooms are Clery-reportable non-forcible sex offenses distinct from, and less publicized than, sexual-assault warnings"
  ],
  "sources": [
    {
      "title": "Police warning students after several reports of a Peeping Tom inside UMass Amherst residence halls - Boston 25 News",
      "url": "https://www.boston25news.com/news/local/police-warning-students-after-several-reports-peeping-tom-inside-umass-amherst-residence-halls/GUESMY2HWJG37P4HB5QP5VUK5I/",
      "type": "local-media"
    },
    {
      "title": "UMass Amherst police investigating reports of Peeping Tom looking at female students in showers - NBC Boston",
      "url": "https://www.nbcboston.com/news/local/umass-amherst-police-investigating-reports-of-peeping-tom-looking-at-female-students-in-showers/3499677/",
      "type": "local-media"
    },
    {
      "title": "UMass Police investigating 5 Peeping Tom incidents on campus - Daily Hampshire Gazette",
      "url": "https://amherstbulletin.com/2024/10/03/peeping-tom-reported-in-showers-at-umass-dorms-in-amherst-57248836/",
      "type": "local-media"
    }
  ],
  "confidence": "medium",
  "tags": [
    "voyeurism",
    "sexual-offense",
    "timely-warning",
    "massachusetts",
    "residence-hall",
    "peeping-tom",
    "clery-act"
  ],
  "dateAdded": "2026-07-03",
  "lastUpdated": "2026-07-03",
  "addedBy": "ingestion"
}