Another assault alleged at West Chester University

WEST CHESTER West Chester University campus police are investigating what they are calling the third sexual assault in a week, university officials said Friday.

A female student walking between Goshen and Tyson Halls about 12:30 a.m. Friday was approached by a man who appeared to be intoxicated and grabbed her buttocks, the police said. The woman pulled out pepper spray, and the man fled.

University police said it was the fifth such incident in the last month, all of which they have referred to as sexual assaults.

In the one that has led to an arrest, the man, Lawrence Tedeschi, has been charged with summary harassment, according to Mike Noone, first assistant Chester County district attorney. The offense is on a similar level to a traffic violation.

Tedeschi, 61, has been accused of grabbing a female student's knee while she was at the Frances Harvey Greene Library on Wednesday afternoon.

On Saturday, a female student said she was assaulted in a campus residence by a man she did not recognize.

In two previous assaults reported over the last month - one March 30, the second April 4 - female students said they were sexually assaulted by men they knew.

University spokeswoman Pam Sheridan said the rash of incidents could mean that more women are reporting alleged assaults, not that more are taking place. Still, she urged students to be cautious.

"They need to be on the lookout and report anything they think is suspicious or anything that has happened to them," Sheridan said.

The man involved in Friday's alleged assault was described as being black, about 5-foot-10 with a slim build.