Published: 1/27/2023 9:11:21 AM
Modified: 1/27/2023 9:16:25 PM
HANOVER — A temporary employee at Dartmouth College has been fired and banned from campus after allegedly assaulting people at the school earlier this week, according to college administrators.
The college’s Department of Safety and Security received two separate reports of students who had experienced “unwanted sexual touching on campus” on Tuesday, according to a Wednesday email to students from Scott Brown, the dean of the college, and Keiselim Montas, the director of the Department of Safety and Security.
Subsequently, the department and the Hanover police investigated the incident and learned of a third incident.
On Thursday, Hanover Police Lt. Mike Schibuola said they had identified five alleged victims.
So far at least, all the victims are students who say the suspect grabbed their “buttocks area,” Schibuola said.
The male employee is a New Hampshire resident, Schibuola said.
He was not sure what type of work the employee was hired to do, but, he said, “My understanding is it was his first day.”
Diana Lawrence, a college spokeswoman, declined to comment on the ongoing police investigation in a Thursday email.
She referred questions to Hanover police.
On Tuesday, the employee was immediately relieved of his duties, removed from campus and is “permanently prohibited from entering campus,” the college’s Wednesday email said.
As of Friday, no arrests had yet been made.
“We are still actively investigating the allegations and identifying/interviewing victims and witnesses,” Schibuola said Thursday.
But, he said, he does “foresee charges in this case.”
Nora Doyle-Burr can be reached at ndoyleburr@vnews.com or 603-727-3213.