Over the summer, a Northeastern University Police Department, or NUPD, operation led to the arrest of a 61-year-old man for lewd and lascivious behavior in a first-floor men’s bathroom of Mugar Life Sciences Building June 6, a police report obtained by The News shows.
The operation, conducted by the NUPD Investigations and Special Operations, or ISO, unit, was in response to “several recent complaints and incidents involving lewd activity” occurring in men’s bathrooms in Mugar and several of the buildings connected via the campus tunnel system, which include Dodge Hall, Ell Hall and Curry Student Center. Lewdness, a term meaning the deliberate exposure of buttocks, genitalia or female breasts, is a felony in Massachusetts and carries up to three years in a state prison.
On Oct. 23, the News first reported on incidents of illegal activity that led to the addition of locks requiring Husky IDs for entrance to bathrooms in Mugar. At a faculty senate meeting Oct. 16, Provost and Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs David Madigan said the locks were added due to activity “in relation to prostitution.” Massachusetts law defines prostitution as “the conduct of engaging, agreeing to engage or offering to engage in sexual conduct for a fee.”
The police report filed at Roxbury Municipal Court makes no mention of the subject engaging in a monetary transaction. There were two other incidents of trespassing in Mugar June 6, and the individuals involved in both incidents were summoned to court, according to NUPD crime logs.
In total, there were eight reported instances throughout May and June of either trespassing, loitering, suspicious activity or lewd and lascivious conduct in Mugar, according to NUPD crime logs. As of October, locks were added to eight of Mugar’s bathrooms, requiring a Husky Card for entrance.
The court document obtained by The News said through intelligence gained in “previous similar operations,” NUPD ISO “was aware” of two websites — Sniffies and Grindr — that are used by men looking for other men to have sexual encounters.
Sniffies, which calls itself a “map-based cruising” app on its website, has a feature that allows users to share their location on a live map that is visible to all users, indicating they are open to engaging in sexual encounters. Initially launched in 2018, the map displays the locations of groups and popular meeting places in the user’s area. According to the website, there are three meet up sites listed for the Northeastern campus as of Nov. 19: Ell Hall, Dodge Hall and Curry Student Center. Mugar is not listed on the website.
Northeastern media relations did not respond to several requests for comment on The News’ findings that multiple buildings were listed on the Sniffies map.
The website provides directions to reach specific bathrooms in each of the buildings. The News found the bathroom in the basement of Dodge features a lock that requires a Husky ID for entry, while bathrooms listed in Ell and Curry did not have locks.
In June, Northeastern was a featured location on Sniffies, and there were four buildings, including Mugar, listed as “meet up spots,” according to the police report. For Mugar, the map on Sniffies had a picture of the door to the first-floor men’s bathroom and instructions on how to navigate to that location.
During the June 6 operation, a NUPD officer went to the area, which he had checked 10 minutes prior when he observed an anonymous user check in to the location. The lights in the previously empty bathroom had been turned off and the handicapped stall appeared to be occupied.
The officer observed a man sitting on the toilet. As the officer approached the area, he heard a sniffing sound from the handicapped stall. From previous similar operations, the officer wrote in the report that they were “aware this noise is often used as a way of discreetly communicating that you are a Sniffies user.” The officer tapped the bathroom counter in response — another discrete communication method also used during meet-ups.
The officer reported that a minute later, the subject laid on the floor in the stall. The report said the officer heard noises coming from the stall suggesting that the subject was masturbating. He then identified himself as a police officer and ordered the subject to exit the stall.
The subject said he was on campus “looking to meet men” and that he has “been engaged in such activity for most of his adult life.” The man said he gained access to Mugar through a door that prominently displays a Private Property/No Trespassing placard. NUPD placed the subject under arrest for trespassing and lewd and lascivious conduct.
News staff Eli Curwin contributed reporting.
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