HANOVER — A 58-year old Norwich man has been arrested and charged with assault after making offensive comments to a group of Dartmouth students in downtown Hanover last month, Hanover Police said in a news release.

John M. Mlcoch was arrested and charged with a misdemeanor count of assault stemming from an incident on the evening of Sept. 17 when Mlcoch allegedly directed “offensive comments” at a group of Dartmouth students near the intersection of Main Street and Wheelock Street and then pushed one of them to the ground after the student began to use his phone to record Mlcoch, police said.

Hanover Police Lt. Mike Schibuola said the department has referred the police report to the NH Department of Justice for review of a possible hate crime and that the suspect is “someone we have dealt with many times on mental health issues.”

The suspect had allegedly directed comments at the victim in regard to his racial status, Schibuola said.

Dartmouth Safety & Security issued an alert on Sept. 19 that an unidentified graduate student was accosted and attacked near the intersection of Main Street and Wheelock Street at around 10:49 p.m. by a man who then fled the area before police arrived. The student, who was not identified, did not sustain any physical injuries, the safety office said.

The victim, who The Dartmouth student newspaper identified as a graduate student in biochemistry from Pakistan and initially was undecided about pressing charges is now cooperating on the filing and was made aware of the arrest, Schibuola said.

An email sent to the student’s student email address seeking comment did not receive a response.

]]>