Thinking Out Loud: What would you do if you saw someone being sexually harassed?

A Southwestern College student who was arrested and then released by campus police following three battery complaints filed by female students is now in South Bay Detention Facility following his arrest by San Diego State University Police.

Glenn Paulo Balancar is in jail after pleading not guilty to seven misdemeanor counts of sexual battery, his bail was set at $50,000. Five days after his detainment and release by SWC campus police for battery, SDSU police received multiple calls about a male following and inappropriately touching women on campus. Balancar was arrested and placed in jail after two female students identified him as their attacker.

A week earlier Balancar allegedly harassed three SWC coeds. Two victims were reluctant to be interviewed, the third victim came forward under the condition that her name not be used in crime logs or The Sun. (SWC journalism policy is not to use unattributed sources, though the editorial board agreed to make an exception for victims of sexual assault.)

Campus chief police, Michael Cash said SWCPD released Balancar because under the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) and college policy, Balancar was cited for a misdemeanor charge of battery against a female student and not sexual assault.

“One of the biggest misnomers is what happened with Balancar,” said Cash. “What he did (at SWC) was battery, what he did at SDSU was a sexual battery. Battery is if someone is touching you and it’s against your will. Sexual battery, you have to touch an intimate part of a women’s body, anything that would be considered a sexual place. We have to go by the penal code definition.”

Jane Doe said she was studying in the library when Balancar assaulted her on September 10. Doe said she was working at a table on the second floor when Balancar approached and began talking to her.

“You know how small talk slowly ends and you expect them to leave?” said Doe. “Instead he stayed and his presence was bothering me.”

Doe said she had moved her chair away from Balancar and he moved over next to her and began touching her inappropriately on her inner thigh.

“So I put my headphones in and that’s when he started brushing on me,” she said.

“I began to feel really uncomfortable and it was very scary.”

English major Cristofer Garcia said he was present in the library and saw Balancar approach Doe.

“When he removed the chairs, that was the moment I realized something was really wrong,” he said.

Doe A said she was grateful for Garcia’s intervention.

“When I saw (Garcia) I ran to him, then I just grabbed him and told him (Balancar was) touching me and broke down crying,” said Doe.

Alex Tovar, a nursing major and classmate of Doe, said he had returned to see her crying. After DoeA told him what had happened, Tovar encouraged her to file a report with the campus police.

“So if it wasn’t for (Alex) I would have never reported it,” said Doe.

Doe said that the officer that accompanied to the police station to file the report made comments that offended her.

“He said, ‘Well of course that happened to you, look at what you are wearing’,” Doe said. “I was dumbfounded. I didn’t think that an authority figure would say something like that, like it was my fault.”

Before Doe came forward, the police received two anonymous reports through email that correlated with Balancar’s description and case, said Cash.

“If I can’t go back and find the person that made the report, when I stop the (suspect) and he asks me ‘why I am being stopped,’ I have to let him go if I can’t find the person that initiated the report,” he said. “No victim, no crime.”

Cash said it is important for women speak up in order to stop the assailant from harassing more females.

“If the last girl that spoke up hadn’t we would have never got him,” he said. “We would have had to wait for another victim to come forward.”

Cash said VAWA allows the police to keep the victims anonymous after they have come forward.

“That’s normal for a lot of young ladies because they do not know how to really come out and express themselves,” he said. “They are a little nervous and don’t know how or where to get the information.”

Students can call or make anonymous tips to the police through the use of the MyPD App, however, Cash said the most effective way to make a difference is by coming forward in person to the police department.

In response to the recent arrest of Balancar, Phi Theta Kappa Honor Society is holding a “Day of Action” in order to advocate against sexual assault on campus. Day of Action is a part of the It’s On Us campaign launched by President Obama last September. The purpose of the campaign is to encourage bystander intervention against suspected sexual assault on campus and teach students practical tools to use in suspicious circumstances. Day of Action will take place on October 22 from 11:45a.m. – 12:45p.m. on Jaguar Walk.