PROVO, Utah – A man accused of groping women on Brigham Young University’s campus was ordered to appear in court, and officials at a rape recovery center expressed disappointment after the student was not jailed.
Police served Nathan Eric Fletcher, 22, with a court order Friday and said they believe he is connected to as many as 16 cases of groping that occurred since January.
Holly Mullen, executive director of the Rape Recovery Center in Salt Lake City, said she believes Fletcher should have been jailed.
“The BYU administration has put out a notice to students, if they feel unsafe or insecure about walking on campus they’re free to call the police for a campus escort, which is fine except we still have somebody who’s accused of sexual assault walking freely in the city of Provo, and meanwhile the women are the ones who are supposed to be calling the police and to the Rape Recovery Center; that just doesn’t seem to add up. It doesn’t seem right,” Mullen said.
She also spoke about Fletcher’s alleged crimes.
“They are calling him a groper, but, frankly, sexual assault is actually what this is,” she said. “Grabbing a woman’s breasts is a little bit more than just groping, it’s a violation of her control and independence and her body.”
Officials with BYU police said they don’t typically arrest and jail suspects for misdemeanor charges. Fletcher faces two counts of sexual battery as class A misdemeanors and has until May 1 to report to the Fourth District Courthouse.
