Suspect Behind Bars After Belmont Abbey College Sexual Assault
BELMONT – Students can sleep easier at Belmont Abbey College after the man accused of trespassing and sexually assaulting a student is behind bars.
The trespassing and assault allegedly took place Sunday morning just after 6:30.
38-year-old John Foster Alexander turned himself in to authorities, but students still find it bizarre that this happened on what they say is a very safe campus.
“This is the first time I’ve ever heard of anything happening on campus, I always feel incredibly safe here,” said junior Jack Duntharp.
Rolando Rivas is the campus police public information officer, and said that the resident hall where the assault took place was completely secure, except for one spot.
“The residents hall was secure,” he said. “It was operating as it should. It’s a key card access hall, however, one of the doors was not closed properly.”
Alexander allegedly went in and up to the second floor. Police say he was trying doors until he came across one unlocked and sexually assaulted a female student.
“We were able to get his car, see his car, see his face, and get his license plate,” said Rivas
Alexander was supposed to turn himself in on September 4th according to his lawyer, but didn’t. Hope was starting to fade until September 5th around 5pm. WCCB’s Emma Mondo was mid interview with a student when a campus officer approached her to share the news that Alexander had turned himself in to the Mecklenburg County Jail.
“He just turned himself in how does that make you feel?” Mondo asked Duntharp.
“Relieved,” he said. “Justice is being served and I’m happy about that”
Dorothy Wunderlich and Erin Gill are junior athletes on campus, and say they feel relieved that Alexander is in Custody.
“It definitely makes me feel a lot more safe,” Wunderlich said. “I don’t live there but my teammates do so it makes me feel more comfortable for them living there.”
Belmont Abbey Police want to make sure students are as safe as possible moving forward. New gates, new cameras, and a new badge I.D. policy are already in place.
