Kennesaw State police arrested a student on the Kennesaw campus on Tuesday, Aug. 21, on two charges of simple battery.
Campus police arrested Eric Riera and launched an investigation after KSU student Keyondra Harris reported that Reira touched her foot inappropriately with his own foot while they were sitting in the library late Tuesday night.
Harris said in a post on Twitter that she was doing her homework in the library on Aug.17 between the hours of 11 p.m. and midnight when Riera sat down next to her. Harris said in the post that Riera removed his shoes and began moving his foot closer to her own foot.
After he sat down next to her at a computer, Harris noticed that Riera had been looking down at her feet. She said that she felt uncomfortable but remained focused on her homework until she looked down and saw that Riera had his shoes off.
Harris recorded Riera discretely as he began to move his feet closer to her. After Reira touched her foot, she said she took two more pictures before walking away to contact the KSU police. Harris shared the videos and photographs of the incident on her Twitter.
Harris remained inside the library until police arrived. Riera had left when an officer arrived on the scene, but the KSU police department posted one of the photos that Harris took in the library on its Facebook page shortly after the incident, asking students, faculty and staff to help identify the man depicted in Harris’ Twitter post.
When a KSU officer arrived, Harris explained the situation as the officer said, “well I guess getting all your stuff and moving to another computer would’ve been too much of a hassle.”
University Spokeswoman Tammy Demel said the investigation has revealed that Riera may have committed similar acts on campus previously.
According to Reira’s arrest report, he was arrested on two charges of simple battery. Reira was released on bond on Wednesday, Aug. 22 — the day after he was arrested.
Reira’s case is part of an ongoing investigation. KSU police asked that if anyone has any additional information that could help with the case to contact them at 470-578-6206 or police@kennesaw.edu.
Students, faculty or staff can also contact the KSU police through the LiveSafe app.
