Southeastern Police say a man is behind bars after abducting a female student from the campus in Hammond and sexually assaulting her Thursday morning.
Chief Michael Beckner spoke to us last night and explained the crime and the investigation that followed.
He said that the suspect took the victim around 8 a.m. in the area of North Oak Street and West Dakota Street when he drew a gun and ordered her to get into his white Suburban.
The suspect sexually assaulted her and then dropped the victim off at a different location in Tangipahoa Parish.
After the victim returned to the area, she drove to her boyfriend’s residence in Livingston Parish where they reported the crime to the sheriff’s office there.
Authorities alerted the University Police who immediately opened an investigation.
University Police say they were able to use cameras and tag readers to get a lead on the suspect’s vehicle.
Beckner said that the suspect was arrested four hours after receiving the initial report.
After releasing images of the suspect’s vehicle, a community member’s tip led to the whereabouts of the suspect and he was arrested at an apartment complex in the area.
Beckner said a combination of good police work, interagency cooperation, and cutting edge technology allowed them to detain the man accused of this heinous crime.
