Man Pleads Not Guilty to Charges in Connection with Assault at Harvard

The man charged in connection with an alleged assault at Lowell House and a reported incident at MIT pleaded not guilty to all charges on Thursday.

Arthur O. Krogman, a 31-year-old from New Hampshire, faces six charges — including kidnapping, indecent assault and battery, daytime breaking and entering, and witness intimidation — in connection with an alleged assault at Lowell House and a reported breaking and entering at MIT last week.

Before the hearing began, Krogman’s attorney, Scott Matson, filed a motion to waive his client’s appearance in the courtroom for Thursday’s arraignment. District Court Judge David E. Frank approved the motion and permitted Krogman to appear remotely without showing his face.

Matson noted that, given the early stage of the investigation, witnesses may still need to identify Krogman in court — arguing that requiring he appear publicly for the arraignment could jeopardize Krogman’s right to a fair trial.

Police identified Krogman after sharing surveillance photos of him with the Department of Homeland Security’s biometric support center, which, according to prosecutors, returned an Instagram post of a group of high school lacrosse players that investigators believed included Krogman. Police contacted the school’s head lacrosse coach, who then identified Krogman as one of his former players.

Krogman was arrested by the Massachusetts State Police with the assistance of the Wakefield Police Department on Wednesday, according to Harvard University Police Department spokesperson Steven G. Catalano. An MSP spokesperson wrote that Krogman was “wanted on warrants by Harvard University Police for several charges.”

The charges stem from a reported assault on May 19. Police were first alerted when Krogman allegedly followed a Harvard senior into Lowell House without authorization and attempted to force her into her room at around 5:30 p.m.

Middlesex Assistant District Attorney David Witter, who is prosecuting the case, shared details of the victim’s account during the hearing. She reported that Krogman followed her to her room in Lowell and, after she unlocked the door, put his hands on her hips and attempted to push her into the room. The victim screamed, alerting people in surrounding rooms, and Krogman fled the scene after trying to cover her mouth.

Witter argued that Krogman’s attempt to cover the victim’s mouth while she screamed for help constituted a witness intimidation charge. Matson disputed the claim, arguing there was no probable cause for the charge because Krogman did not succeed in blocking her from screaming, and intimidation usually happens after the event.

Krogman was also charged in connection with a breaking and entering at MIT that occurred roughly 15 minutes later when a person reported that an unknown man had also attempted to follow them into a residential building at MIT at around 5:45 p.m., though they didn’t report to MIT police until after HUPD had sent the initial alert about the incident in Lowell.

MIT police sent an alert to affiliates roughly two hours after HUPD sent the first alert last week. The MIT alert included security camera photos of the suspect.

The HUPD alert also prompted another victim to report an earlier interaction with Krogman on Harvard’s campus. The person reported being grabbed by the wrist by an unknown man, who attempted to pull them toward a gated entrance on Memorial Drive outside of the Harvard-owned Peabody Terrace apartments at around 5 p.m. — roughly 30 minutes before the incident at Lowell House.

HUPD identified Krogman as the suspect in the Peabody Terrace report in a Wednesday alert, but he has not been charged in connection with the incident.

Krogman will be detained until he is set to appear for a dangerousness hearing on June 5.

—Staff writer Shawn A. Boehmer can be reached at [email protected] and on Signal at shawnb.18. Follow him on X @ShawnBoehmer.

—Staff writer Claire A. Michal can be reached at [email protected] and on Signal at ClaireMichal.154.