Man Arrested On Campus Police Cart Away Exposed Intruder from Atwater
By Gabrielle Siegel ’10
News Reporter
On Monday, April 21st, Jin Ha ’08 and his father were returning to campus a few minutes before 5:00 P.M. when Jin noticed a suspicious-looking young man with his pants down, leaning against the fence near Atwater. Jin called Community Safety, who in turn called the Wallingford Police Department. The police arrived on the scene at 5:07 P.M., met with Community Safety, and took the man into custody.
According to the Wallingford Police Department, the man’s name is Benjamin Ferrie. He is nineteen years old and lives on North Street, which is not far from the Choate campus. Ferrie was taken into custody on the grounds of exposing himself to a Choate student, and is currently being held under a $5000 bond. He is being charged with a breach of peace and public indecency, which are both Class B Misdemeanors. A hearing is scheduled for Thursday, March 1st. If Ferrie is proven guilty, he may be charged a fine up to $1000, six months in jail, or both. “[Crimes like this happen] every once in a while; it’s not a big deal,” according to Lieutenant Mark Mikulski of the Wallingford Police Department.
A number of Wallingford streets pass through our campus. While the nonexistent border between the school and the town has rarely been a problem in the past, there is always the threat of someone walking onto campus uninvited. “I know that a lot of Choaties have experienced taunts from people before, but I don’t think they’ve ever gotten this close,” says an anonymous fourth-former. “I feel like if one guy can come up to Atwater and be all like that then there could be a lot more people showing up on campus, and I’m kind of worried about our safety with all these messed-up people around.”
Some students are discomforted by the notion that anyone can walk on campus without permission. According to Erica Lin ’10, outsiders do spend time on Choate’s campus more than some students think. “I’ve been seeing a lot of ‘townies’ on Choate campus, hanging out around the [Winter X], skateboarding and doing tricks,” she remarks. While skateboarders do not pose a threat to the well-being of Choate students, there is always the danger that someone with ulterior motives could come to Choate. When asked if any crimes like this one had occurred on campus before, Dean of Students John Ford replies, “Yes, fortunately very rarely, but similar things have happened in the past.”
He advises, “a Choate student ever does see someone suspicious wandering campus, the student should immediately seek the help of an adult… and Community Safety should be called.” No new security measures will be taken, he says, “but everyone is reminded to keep an eye out for unfamiliar and/or suspicious persons on the campus.” “I think it was an unfortunate event,” he adds, “but Jin, Community Safety, the dean on duty, [Mrs. Miller], and the Wallingford police dealt with the situation effectively.”
