Editor’s note: A student, 21-year-old George Jay Runnels, was arrested by campus police at 10:22 a.m. Monday, Oct. 6, on suspicion of committing a series of fondling incidents. He was charged with a misdemeanor and released from the Torrance City Jail at 11:55 p.m. after making a sworn promise to attend court hearings. None are scheduled at this time.
Four incidents of sexual battery occurring at or in connection with El Camino College’s campus Thursday, Oct. 2, are being investigated by the ECC Police Department and outside agencies.
One incident involved a man approaching and touching another person’s buttocks in Lot C at 10:56 a.m., according to a “Timely Warning” email sent at 1:27 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 2.
A bulletin email containing images of the suspect captured via CCTV cameras was sent through ECC email to the campus community at 1:13 p.m. Friday, Oct. 3.
“We are trying to get the faculty, staff and students to help us identify this individual,” ECC Police Chief Matthew Vander Horck said.
Three of the incidents took place on campus, with the fourth occurring in the Metro 210 bus on its way to campus.
“The suspect was on the city bus with [a student victim], they both got off on the campus grounds, she went to her class, he went about and then he did the other incident [at Lot C],” Vander Horck said.
Vander Horck said two students reported the suspect to the police, but that the department believes there may be two other victims.
“We’ve been watching the CCTV coverage, because we tracked him all over across the campus, but we haven’t identified those victims yet,” Vander Horck said.
Campus police were informed of the fondling in Lot C around 11:04 a.m., Thursday, Oct. 3, and a “Timely Warning” email alert was sent from Marketing and Communications to ECC students around 1:27 p.m. that day.
Timely warnings must be sent within a reasonable amount of time to report an imminent or “serious or continuing threat” in compliance with the federal Jeanne Clery Campus Safety Act, according to the advisory.
ECC has not reported any fondling incidents on campus since 2023, when there were eight cases, according to the Annual Security Report released by the college Tuesday, Sept. 30.
The college’s annual report lists certain crimes occurring on or near campus within the past three years as required under the Clery Act, which was signed into law in 1990.
