SFU harasser issued trespass notice, escorted off campus

Simon Fraser University has issued a trespass notice and escorted a man off the Burnaby Mountain campus after one woman complained to campus security about being harassed.

But according to posts on social media, the same individual has been harassing women at SFUforyears, including attempts to forcibly hug, kiss and follow womenhome.

SFUchief safety officer Mark Lalondesaid the man, who is described as earlyto mid 20s, five feet three inches to five feet five inches tall and ofSouth East Asian descent,isnot a student or member of the SFUcampus community.

He was escorted off campus May 30.

"Wealso contacted the RCMPand I understand they've opened up a case," said Lalonde.

Third year student Hayley Vediolasays shewas approached by the man on May 23 while studying.

She said he made her feel uncomfortable by hovering over her for an extended period of time. He eventually asked for her phone number, Facebookinformation and what bus she was taking home.

Hid in the washroom

"I wrote down a fake phone number ... told him I was taking the 144 [bus] I wasn't and then hid in the washroom for 10 minutes," she said. "Thankfully, he did leave."

Vediola says she normally feels safe at SFUbut now wonders if there's a way to make some areas on campus only accessible to students.

"Everyone has random encounters with people who make them feel uncomfortable, but the more I thought about it, it really made me feel unsafe on campus. That's the first time I felt like that."

Vedioladid not report the incident, because she wasn't sure if it was serious enough.

Despite a number of social media posts about the man, Lalonde claims last week was the first timeanyone reported him toSFUcampus security.

"The challenge is people can post things on social media and ... misinformation can getout there. But ifit's not reported, then we don't know about it, and we can't take action," he said.

Lalonde says campus security hasan image of the man, and that staff will be on the lookout to make sure he doesn't trespass.

With files from Megan Batchelor