Police arrest suspect in gropings of UNLV women

Tuesday, March 15, 2005 | 9:41 a.m.

A suspect in a series of gropings of women at UNLV is now in police custody in San Bernardino, Calif., UNLV police chief Jose Elique said Monday.

Joseph Alexander Henderson was arrested near Barstow along Interstate 15 at 2:30 a.m. Sunday after a California Highway Patrol officer pulled the 34-year-old Las Vegas resident over on a routine traffic stop, Elique said.

UNLV police had issued a warrant for Henderson's arrest Feb. 28 after one of his victims picked his photo out of a Metro Police photo lineup and said he was the man who had groped her, Elique said.

Henderson will be extradited to Las Vegas to face at least three counts of gross lewdness for allegedly grabbing four women, Elique said. He said Metro is also investigating Henderson for a possible sexual assault.

Elique said Henderson was an "opportunist" who would come up behind women and grab their buttocks, make a rude comment and then flee. Henderson had no connection to the university.

Henderson has a "lengthy" criminal record, Metro spokesman Sgt. Chris Jones said. He is registered in Nevada as having been arrested in California as a felon in possession of a firearm, Jones said.

Jones also said Henderson has been arrested locally for numerous narcotic and narcotic trafficking charges. He was also arrested twice in Metro's jurisdiction for domestic battery and has several traffic misdemeanors, police said.

UNLV police issued a campuswide warning about the groper and another man who was peeping into bathroom stalls more than two weeks ago. Officials used both e-mail and posters to warn women about the trespassers.

UNLV police also stepped up their security measures and placed plainclothes officers around the bathrooms, buildings and dorms where the two men were seen, Elique said.

"It's our position that one of these crimes is one too many," Elique said.

The peeping Tom is still at large, but there have been no incidents since the warning was sent out, Elique said. He thinks the warning scared the man away.

That man, described as white and unkempt, wore green tennis shoes, and at least three times peered over the top of occupied stalls and on one occasion even tried to enter an occupied stall, Elique said. The woman inside stopped him by putting her legs up against the door, Elique said.

No one has been able to positively identify that man, who police believe may be homeless, Elique said.

Female students on UNLV's campus Monday said they were relieved that a suspect in the gropings was caught, but that the incidents had heightened their own anxiety levels on campus, especially walking at night.

"I feel a lot safer now that he's caught," said 19-year-old sophomore Irene Lopez. She's still worried about the peeper who was on campus.

"It's kind of embarrassing," Lopez said. "This is our school -- we shouldn't have to worry about this. We should be able to pee in peace."

Robyn Verhagen, a 21-year-old junior studying international business, said she would continue to take the precautions recommended by UNLV police, such a not walking by herself at night.

"There's always more people out there," Verhagen said.