Two Calvin students were sexually assaulted on the evening of April 25, according to a crime alert bulletin posted last Thursday.

The students, two women, were walking to their car at approximately 11:30 p.m. when they encountered a man in a white Plymouth van parked next to their car. He got out of the van, exposed himself and made lewd comments and gestures. According to Grand Rapids police reports, he also tried to grab one of the women.

“He had backed into the parking space and they had parked forward in their space, so he had made it so they would have to walk by his car,” said Vice President of Student Life Shirley Hoogstra. “Maybe it was random, but he had hoped that someone would come to the car.”

The students were able to get away quickly by getting in their car, locking the door and moving away. They took down both the license plate of the van and a physical description of the offender and reported both to Campus Safety. Campus Safety then ran the license number through their database until the Grand Rapids police came to find the name and address.

“Here’s what’s so impressive,” said Hoogstra. “These women were in a fairly dangerous situation. It was unexpected and they kept their wits around them and immediately acted in a way that secured their safety. This individual [the perpetrator], we found out, had been acting out in other places too.”

The suspect was identified as Jacob Gingrich, offender who had been previously convicted on several different campuses. In June of 1999, while a student at Ferris State U., he was convicted of indecent exposure. This year,

on April 20, he exposed himself to another woman at Ferris. This woman was able to describe the white van and its license plate.

From there, Gingrich traveled to Grand Rapids, where he struck again at Calvin. Before police were able to find him, he traveled to East Lansing. There, inside a parking garage, he abducted a woman, took her inside the van, and raped her. This victim described the same person and van as every other attack, and police filed first degree criminal sexual conduct charges against Gingrich.

Around 3:00 a.m. on Tuesday, police noticed the same van parked near Lake Michigan in Whitehall, Mich. As the sheriff’s officer approached the van, Gingrich, who was inside, took a gun and killed himself.

Hoogstra and the rest of campus are grateful that the incident on campus was not any worse.

“Campus Safety immediately did everything they had to do,” she said. “One of the reasons why this was a success — that this didn’t result in something worse — was that there were two people. Any time you have two people, you’re safer.”

This incident emphasizes the safety methods that Hoogstra says students should be taking on a regular basis.

“If you see a car parked late at night,” she said, “be cautious about it, just as these women were. Ask a friend to walk with you if you’re going to your car. Use the escort service if you’re alone — all of the blue security posts are so that you don’t have to get out of your car.”

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