Since early 2007, to comply with a federal law requiring timely warning notification of crimes committed on or near campus, the University of Washington police department has been sending periodic e-mails to alert the campus community when wrongdoings are reported. Today brings notice of a bathroom-cruising would-be carnival barker in the undergraduate library:

The UW Police Department is investigating a reported case of indecent liberties that occurred on January 9, 2009 at 8:30 a.m. in a men’s restroom in Odegaard Library. A male victim entered the 3rd floor restroom and noticed the male suspect loitering by the sinks. The suspect started a conversation with the victim describing his own height and weight, and asked the victim how tall he was and how much he weighed. He asked several flirtatious questions while approaching the victim. The victim attempted to leave the area, but the suspect would not move. The suspect again asked the victim how much he weighed, said “let me check,” and grabbed the victim in several places. The victim stated that someone entered the restroom, which allowed him to escape. The victim was not injured in the encounter.

Condolences to the victim of this genuinely creepy encounter, without which we may have never learned the term “indecent liberties”. The rest of us should be vigilant for the suspect — a tall, dark-complected male with a “buzz” cut, strong accent of origin unknown — who was last seen carrying a small toiletry bag and using his apparent difficulty in judging size and mass from sight alone as a pick-up line.