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Student says man tried to touch her leg in UCF parking garage

ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. — The University of Central Florida Police Department warned students to be on their guard after a woman said a man tried to assault her in a campus parking garage Monday evening.

The student was approached by an unknown man who asked for help with his car at about 6 p.m. in Garage C, UCF police spokeswoman Courtney Gilmartin said.

During the exchange, the man tried to touch the student's leg, causing her to scream and run away, Gilmartin said.

The student immediately called police and described the man as 5 feet 7 inches tall; he was wearing glasses, a gray sweater and dark pants.

"We notified our community about this incident because the circumstances and suspect description match two similar incidents that took place on campus within the past month and a half," Gilmartin said Tuesday. "We've increased patrol, put out community alerts, shared the suspect descriptions, and released what surveillance video we have."

Police said there is no surveillance footage of Monday's incident. Investigators have contacted the Orlando Police Department about having a composite sketch drawn.

In December, a student reported that she was inappropriately grabbed by a man inside the Business Administration II building, police said.

The unknown man was lingering near a vending machine and started talking to her before grabbing her, Gilmartin said.

Investigators said the woman ran from the building and reported the incident about an hour later.

The man was described as being dark-skinned with a thin build and about 5 feet 7 inches tall. He was wearing a gray hoodie and jeans at the time of the incident, police said.

A similar incident happened in the same building Dec. 4, Gilmartin said. The victim in that case provided a similar description of the culprit, but no one was arrested.

Anyone who knows information about any of the incidents is asked to call UCF police at 407-823-5555.