Man held over University of Toledo dormitory incidents

9/11/2007

A man was arrested yesterday for entering University of Toledo dorm rooms last week and touching female students as they slept, about five months after he was arrested in connection with a similar incident, university police said.

Jeremy Ketter, 25, of 4051 Walker Ave., was arrested about 11 a.m. yesterday at his home on two counts of burglary and one count of sexual imposition. He was in the Lucas County jail last night and is to be arraigned today in Toledo Municipal Court.

Ketter, who is not a UT student, is accused of entering at least four rooms in Nash Hall between 5:30 and 6:30 a.m. Thursday. Two women on the second floor reported a man entered their room and touched them while they slept. One said she woke up to someone rubbing her leg; the other said she woke up to a man rubbing her arm and hand, and it took 10 to 15 minutes to get him to leave.

On the third floor, the man entered a room with two women inside and asked them about Chris and Amy. The girls said they didn't know who he was talking about and asked him to leave, which he did.

Another woman on the third floor said she awoke to see a man standing in her room, and that he touched her buttocks and breast before leaving.

It's unknown how the man got into the building, but the rooms he entered were unlocked, UT police Chief Jeff Newton said.

The chief sent a letter to the campus community on Friday describing the incidents and asking everyone to keep their doors locked, especially at night.

The letter also asked people to immediately report crimes on campus.

The women in Nash Hall did not report the incidents until 14 hours later, after the same man was seen lurking in the women's showers at Nash, Chief Newton said. The women said they believed the man was drunk.

The man was chased out of the building at that time, about 10:30 p.m., the chief said.

While investigating the incident, police noticed similarities to an incident in the spring semester that occurred in The Crossings residence hall, Chief Newton said.

On March 24, two female students reported that they had fallen asleep while watching a movie in the commons area of their suite when one of them woke up to a hand on her stomach and back, and saw a man lying next to her with his arm around her.

She screamed, awakening the other woman. Both reported that he hugged them and casually talked to them, saying his name was "Cameron," before leaving.

Ketter was arrested shortly afterward in the building.

"That's what led us to believe this was certainly the guy to take a look at," Chief Netwon said.

After the most recent incidents, police took a photo array to the victims, all of whom identified Ketter as the man who entered their rooms, Chief Newton said.

The women had previously given a detailed description of the man, saying he was black, in his early 20s, heavy-set, with some facial hair, and wearing blue jeans, a white shirt with green stripes, and a white hat.

In the March case, Ketter was charged with two counts of burglary and two counts of criminal trespass. The trespassing charges were closed with no conviction in Toledo Municipal Court, while the burglary charges were bound over to Lucas County Common Pleas Court.

Court records indicate Ketter pleaded no contest to a lesser offense of one count of burglary.

Ketter, who was free on $10,000 bond, was scheduled to be sentenced at 1:30 p.m. yesterday, but by that time, he had already been in jail for an hour on the fresh charges.

Ketter has a previous felony conviction of cocaine possession from a 2005 case, for which he was sentenced to three years of probation.

Contact Meghan Gilbert at:

mgilbert@theblade.com

or 419-724-6134.