Details Emerge In Lesley Attack

New details surfaced yesterday about the latest of several indecent assaults, including a more exact description of the assailant, who remains at large.

A Lesley University student was attacked shortly after 6 p.m. Tuesday near Lesley’s dining hall at 31 Everett St. Yesterday the university issued an advisory to all its students describing the suspect as “a light skinned male (possibly Middle Eastern), approximately 5’10” tall, medium build, bald on top with black hair on the sides.”

“It’s not clear whether this description matches previous descriptions,” said Lesley spokesman Bill Doncaster, referring to the 11 previous indecent assaults that have occurred in the Harvard Square area since last October.

Harvard University Police Department officials forwarded the Lesley advisory via e-mail to all undergraduates, terming the assault an “indecent groping” or “unwanted touching.” The e-mail said that the victim was unhurt.

Doncaster said the victim called the Cambridge Police Department (CPD) first, alerting Lesley security about an hour later.

Frank Pasquarello, a CPD spokesman, said the victim has been reluctant to help in the investigation.

“We would love to get further information to follow up,” Pasquarello said. “[The victim] wouldn’t talk to the police after they responded...[so] there’s not much we can do with [her report].”

It was the first such attack against a Lesley student this year, and despite the alert, many Lesley students remained unaware that the incident had occurred just outside the campus’ main quad.

Crystal Duarte, a Lesley junior, said she had also not heard of Tuesday’s assault.

“The last attack I remember [around Lesley] was two years ago,” she said. “There were all sorts of warnings, and everybody talked about it.”

Lesley’s campus, unlike Harvard’s, has no blue-light emergency call boxes. But escort services, similar to the Harvard University Campus Escort Program, are available to Lesley students, as are personal alarm whistles.