University of Maryland student Noah White turned himself in on Tuesday after being charged with visual surveillance in a private area for a voyeur incident in Johnson-Whittle Hall last week, according to a UMPD news release.
A student found a portable recording device inside a fifth floor bathroom in the dorm on March 11, The Diamondback previously reported. University of Maryland Police responded to the voyeur incident that night and did not find additional devices after canvassing the rest of the building’s bathrooms, according to Tuesday’s news release.
White was a Johnson-Whittle Hall resident, according to an email from Resident Life director Dennis Passarella-George to the dorm’s residents.
UMPD received an arrest warrant for White on Friday, the release said.
[Portable recording device found in Johnson-Whittle Hall bathroom]
White — a 19-year-old from Belcamp, Maryland — was also charged with peeping tom, which refers to spying or taking pictures of people without consent, and visual surveillance in a private place with “prurient intent,” according to the UMPD release. Prurient intent includes visual surveillance of the “private area of an individual” without their consent, according to Maryland law.
In a statement to The Diamondback on Tuesday, this university said White has been referred to the student conduct office and denied access to campus and this university’s technology networks pending further investigation.
“[This university] is working diligently in close collaboration with UMPD to learn more about this incident and is providing resources and support to our community,” the statement read. “We are taking additional precautions, and nothing is more important than the safety and wellbeing of our students.”
In his email to Johnson-Whittle Hall residents, Passarella-George said the department is thankful for UMPD’s “swift action in identifying the suspected perpetrator of this incident.”
Resident Life will continue to provide support to students, Passarella-George said in the email.
