University police and representatives from University Housing met with students in Allen Hall on Thursday night regarding the attempted sexual assault incident that occurred Sunday. The presenters spoke to a group of 12 about the incident and safety on campus.
32-year-old Gregory Hayes was arrested early Sunday morning after he allegedly attempted to sexually assault an Allen Hall resident, according to UIPD. Hayes, who is a registered sex offender, is being held on $500,000 bond and pleaded not guilty to the four charges against him. He was charged Monday afternoon with two counts of aggravated criminal sexual assault, one bodily harm and one felony. He was also charged with two counts of aggravated criminal sexual abuse, one bodily harm and one felony.
Andi Cailles, assistant director of residential life, briefed the attending students about the incident. She said departments in the University collaborate when they think there are concerns to address with students.
“The residence hall staff … clues us in if there is a group of students that might be interested in hearing more,” she said. “We also learn that maybe there’s some misinformation out there from an incident based on rumors. We will schedule a time, advertise it, come in and give as much information as we can without breaching confidentiality or somebody’s privacy.”
One of the 12 students who attended the presentation was Shannon Barkley, Allen Hall resident and sophomore in LAS. She said she wanted to attend to learn more about security and was surprised so few people attended. As a resident of Champaign, she said she feels desensitized to crime.
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“Townies have a reputation for being like, ‘I can do whatever I want, I’m from town,’ and it’s like ‘No, you can’t. You’re just as much at risk of being a victim as someone who’s not,” she said. “I feel like if I can learn more, then that’s good.”
Deputy Chief Skip Frost and Officer Ryan Snow, both of UIPD, talked to students about being responsible for their own safety. Frost said the department has 65 sworn officers on the streets, but it’s not enough to have an officer on every street corner.
“Look out for each other,” he said. “Yourself first, but for each other, as well.”
He also told students that both men and women can be victims.
“Nobody deserves to be a victim, but there are a lot of things you can do to reduce your chances of being a victim,” Frost said.
Snow talked about self defense classes, one of the resources the department offers to help students reduce their risk. As an instructor for the Rape Aggression Defense class, Snow said the police understand the college nightlife but want students to partake responsibly.
“Understand there are certain things you can do to get yourself ready to go out,” he said.
Frost closed the presentation by urging students to work with the police to address crime and safety on campus.
“We can’t fix what we don’t know is broken,” he said, encouraging students to dial 9-1-1 when they feel unsafe. He said he’d prefer to get calls that amount to nothing than to not get calls about incidents that lead to something big.
Sari can be reached at [email protected] or @Sari_Lesk.
Editor’s note: A previous version of this article incorrectly stated that Hayes was charged with two charges of felony aggravated criminal sexual assault, bodily harm aggravated criminal sexual abuse and bodily harm aggravated criminal sexual abuse. The correct charges against Hayes are two counts of aggravated criminal sexual abuse, one bodily harm and one felony, and two counts of aggravated criminal sexual abuse, one bodily harm and one felony. The Daily Illini regrets this error.
