[A] Burlington man was arrested Thursday night for lewd and lascivious conduct in UVM’s library.
Officials at Bailey-Howe Library called UVM police Wednesday night after a man, later identified as Bryce David Whitney, exposed himself and attempted to hug several women in the library, pushing one into a bookshelf, according to Tim Bilodeau, deputy chief of UVM Police.
Whitney, the women and the library officials were present when police arrived, Bilodeau said.
Whitney was arrested on the charge of lewd and lascivious conduct and was held on $5,000 bail at the Chittenden County Regional Correctional Facility overnight, pending arraignment. Police also issued a no trespass order to Whitney for the entire UVM campus.
University of Vermont Police released a statement that applauded the quick response from library officials. The university sent an alert that urged the UVM community to contact UVM police with information on this case and on any possible sex crimes, including lewd behavior at 802-656-3473.
In the 2015-16 school year, there were 61 cases of sexual assault, according to a September 2016 article by UVM’s student newspaper.
Last year, there were two demonstrations on the issue. Recently, the group Students Advocating Sexual Empowerment began a list of potential improvements for survivor support, according to Z McCarron, a junior at UVM.
Many students have participated in the national social media #metoo campaign, where people that were assaulted post “me too” in an attempt to show their communities how pervasive sexual assault and harassment is.
