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Article Security up after rape, campuswide evaluation under wayBy David J. Craig BU took added security measures at Loretto Hall last week and is assessing security at all its residence halls after an 18-year-old freshman was reportedly raped in Loretto Hall September 12. Metal bars were placed on first-floor windows at Loretto Hall, which is an Emmanuel College property at 400 The Fenway, leased to BU. Additional lighting and security cameras were placed outside the building, and shrubbery was removed. The University convened a task force to conduct a campuswide security assessment. Police say that Abdelmajid Akouk, 32, a South End resident who works for a Somerville moving company, entered Loretto Hall in the early morning hours of September 12. They say that he hid in a shower stall and assaulted his victim at knifepoint in the bathroom, and that he took her back to her dorm room, where he assaulted her again. Akouk was apprehended by BU police minutes later as he tried to escape the property by scaling a wrought iron fence outside, police say. Akouk was arraigned on rape charges Monday, September 13 and his bail set at $75,000. His employer posted his bail but Akouk was arrested again the next day, and charged with indecent assault and battery for allegedly sexually assaulting another woman on the street shortly before allegedly raping the BU freshman. Akouk, a Moroccan immigrant, was also charged with contempt of court for failing to surrender his passport. His bail was increased to $125,000. He pleaded not guilty to both charges and is due back in court October 12. BU officials and police officers met with residents of Loretto Hall to discuss security issues on September 12 and 17. Security at the building was increased last week. "Now, the entire outside of the building is awash with light, and there are three additional security cameras that let the security guards monitor the exterior of the building," says Michael Hathaway, director of operations in the office of the executive vice president. "We also made changes in the landscaping so that the building can be viewed better by police patrols. And there are always two security guards there instead of one, and we installed peepholes in all the residents' doors." The BU Police Department has temporarily added an officer to each shift so that there is always one officer at Loretto. "The students feared that they were outside our patrol area," says BUPD spokesman Sergeant Jack St. Hilaire. "They felt isolated. In fact, they're closer to the main part of campus than some of the residence halls that we patrol on the east and west ends of Commonwealth Avenue. The Fenway is part of our regular patrol. The added patrol, I'm sure, will be reassuring." BU's long-standing security procedure requires that any person who enters a large residence hall must show personal identification, and entrances are monitored by security guards. At small halls, such as those on Bay State Road, front doors are always locked, and residents must have a key to enter. Hathaway says that the physical security of BU residence halls is constantly being assessed. He is a member of the BU task force undertaking a comprehensive assessment of the physical security of all residence halls. "We're going to look at everything," says Hathaway, "especially at the basement and first-floor windows. We're going to look at how any dwelling can be accessed." The task force will issue a written report detailing suggested improvements this semester, he says. BU has a 60-member |
