Updated: UMBC Student Charged in Sexual Assaults

6:45 p.m. Update: University of Maryland, Baltimore County police have charged a student in the sexual assault of two female students on the evening of Tuesday, Sept. 20.

Charles Edward Williams, 21, of the 600-block of Rest Avenue in Catonsville, faces two charges of assault and two charges of sexual assault. If convicted of all the charges, Williams faces 31 years in prison, according to UMBC deputy police chief Paul Dillon.

Dillon said that shortly after 7 p.m. on Tuesday, a 21-year-old female student who lives off-campus was at the Flat Tuesdays lounge at the University Commons building when she met Williams, and the two engaged in conversation.

As the student was leaving Flat Tuesdays, she encountered Williams again, according to Dillon. Williams pushed the student into a stairwell and sexually assaulted her, he said.

The student was able to push past Williams and leave the stairwell, Dillon said. She went to a student apartment building and called  UMBC police.

At 11:19 p.m., police issued an email alert to notify the campus community of the sexual assault. The alert described the suspect as a white male with dark curly hair, approximately six feet tall, slim build, wearing a black tee shirt with gold lettering, blue jeans and black and white tennis shoes.

Shortly after the alert was issued, a second student contacted police to report a sexual assault by a person fitting a similar description.

According to Dillon, about five minutes after the first assault, the second student was sitting on the steps outside the rear entrance of the Commons when Williams approached and struck up a conversation.

Williams began to touch the student inappropriately, Dillon said. When the student objected, Williams fled the scene, police said.

Neither student was acquainted with Williams before the attacks, according to Dillon.

Williams' name was produced during the police investigation on Wednesday, and he was identified by both students in a photo line-up, according to Dillon.

People involved in the incidents were captured on video survillance cameras in the Commons, but the assaults were not recorded on video, Dillon said.

"We do have some surveillance video footage that we're looking at," he said.

Williams was charged after questioning at around 8:30 p.m.

He was charged with assault and third degree sexual assault in the first incident, and assault and fourth degree sexual assault in the second incident.

Williams was being held on $150,000 bail. A trial date has not been released by the court.

A check of court records shows that Williams does not have a criminal record in Maryland.

While not speaking specifically about Williams, UMBC spokesperson Elyse Ashburn said that in general an "interim suspension" is mandated when a student is accused of a sex crime.

During the interim suspension, the student is forbidden from attending classes or being on campus.

Within 10 business days, the university is legally required to begin a judicial process that operates with a different standard than criminal proceedings.

Dillon said that the sexual assaults are still being investigated.

Original 11:24 a.m. story: A student has been charged in the sexual assault of two female students at the Commons university center Tuesday evening.

"We worked hard all day and made an arrest Wednesday night," said Paul Dillon, deputy police chief at UMBC. "It's still an active investigation."

According to a campus crime report, a female was leaving the campus pub Flat Tuesdays at 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday when she was approached by a male whom she had met there. According to police, the suspect pushed the female victim against the wall and sexually assaulted her.

Another woman was assaulted a few minutes later outside the building, police said.

Sexual assaults are not common on campus, according to crime statistics from the university. In 2011, there was one rape reported in April, but none in 2010.

From 2007 to 2009 there were 11 total sex offenses that occurred on the UMBC campus, which include forcible rape and forcible fondling.

Elyse Ashburn, director of communications for UMBC, released a statement Thursday afternoon after the arrest was made: "UMBC takes sexual violence seriously. The University's police aggressively investigated the report of sexual assault on Tuesday night, resulting in an arrest. No community, not even one as safe as ours, is free of crime, and UMBC has resources in place for victims. The University has worked – and will continue to work – to foster an environment of care, respect and safety."