UC Santa Cruz police recently arrested and charged a man with indecent exposure after a staff member reported a young man committing a lewd act in a building on campus. He was previously accused of the same crime in October.
Carlos Lavalle, who is not a UCSC student or employee, faces a charge of indecent exposure.
Police responded to a call at 8:30 p.m. Thursday after a staff member reported seeing a young man performing a lewd act in an unoccupied utility room of the Classroom 1 Building. The man left the area before officers arrived; however, he was shortly after identified as Carlos Lavalle.
On Friday, the university sent out a message with Lavalle’s photo and description to the campus community asking for help to find him. The campus message said he had received several prior no-trespass orders, including one that was still active. The message also said he was previously arrested in October for the same charge with similar circumstances. The police asked the community to call 911 if they saw an individual suspected of committing a lewd act or Lavalle on campus.
About an hour and a half after that message went out, UCSC police received a call reporting Lavalle outside of Classroom 1. Officers located him and took him into custody.
University officials encourage campus community members to be aware of their surroundings and also of safety resources. UCSC offers a free transit service, the Safe Rides program, on campus from 7 p.m. to midnight. The school also has 42 phones located across campus that allow users to connect directly with UCSC police. Called blue light phones, they typically have a red box or black post with a blue light on top.
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