A man who allegedly groped as many as six women on or near the Brigham Young University campus has been charged with a pair of misdemeanors.
Jacob Scott Hansen, 26, is facing two counts of sexual battery, a Class A misdemeanor, in two separate cases filed in 4th District Court.
Hansen has been accused of five attacks on the BYU campus on March 27 and 28, and he’s suspected in a sixth that occurred near the campus.
In one of the two cases in which he’s been charged, Hansen allegedly “walked up behind a female victim, who was jogging, and grabbed her buttocks.” In the other case, Hansen allegedly followed another victim on the BYU campus and “grabbed her waist, and then touched her buttocks with both hands.”
A witness told police she thought Hansen “must have known the victim because of how intentional the act was,” adding that she then saw him walk away quickly.
According to the charges in both cases, Hansen admitted he touched the victims “and told officers that this gives him a short release that helps him reset.” He said he didn’t target the specific victims, but acted on “impulse, the charges said.
His first court appearance is scheduled for May 5.
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