Incident third sexual crime alert issued this semester
Last week, The Miami Hurricane reported that 39-year-old Frank Thomas Galloway, a UM School of Education doctoral student, was arrested and charged with the sexual assault that occurred in the Wellness Center. Galloway has since been released on $50,000 bond.
A court date has not yet been scheduled. UM administration has not reached a final decision regarding Galloway’s graduate status.
“We are both shocked and saddened,” Dr. Jeanne Shay Schumm, head of the doctorate program for the Teaching and Learning Program at the School of Education, said.
Dr. Schumm went on to say that Galloway had a clean record and there was no way to predict that Galloway could have been involved in such an awful crime.
In another development, authorities have now been able to rule out a connection between Galloway and the simple battery that was reported by Stanford Drive last week. Local and UM police are still investigating that incident.
In yet another case, a suspicious incident was reported last Wednesday at approximately noon in Parking Lot 441 between Building 41 and Building 37.
According to the crime alert emailed to UM students, a white male suspect sitting in his car tried to entice three female students to approach his vehicle. At first the women thought the man was lost and needed directions. They approached cautiously as he tried to get them to tell him their names and kept summoning them to get closer to his car.
Then, as they got closer, they could see that the man was fondling himself through his pants, at which point the victims preceded to contact UM police. The witnesses described the subject as a white male; approximately 20 years old; 5’8″ to 5’11” tall; 170 lbs.; medium build; dirty blond, short, spiky hair; tan complexion; clean shaven; with a scar under one eye [possibly his right eye].
The witnesses also said the suspect spoke in a seductive tone and was wearing a red t-shirt.
He was driving a white, two-door Mercury with Florida tag H94QLU.
The Coral Gables Police Dept. and Public Safety officials say they will continue to gather information and follow leads regarding the incident.
All of these reported crimes have caused students to be more vigilant of their surroundings in order to protect themselves.
“These crime alerts are troubling,” Honeylit Cueco, senior, said. “I always try to walk with a friend, especially at night.”
“I’ve noticed there’s been more crime reports than ever,” Maureen Mendoza, senior, said.
Anyone with information regarding the simple battery at Stanford Circle or the suspicious incident in Parking Lot 441 is asked to call the Coral Gables Police Dept. at 305-442-1600 or Crimestoppers at 305-471-TIPS.
Public Safety officials encourage students to be aware of their surroundings at all times and to request a UM campus security escort by calling X8-6666 from a campus phone, by using an emergency blue light telephone located throughout campus, or by calling 305-284-6666 from any cell phone or off-campus phone.
The Miami Hurricane will continue to follow up on these cases as more information becomes available.
Jorge Arauz can be contacted at um_newspaper@yahoo.com