After almost a year and a half, the "U of M flasher" case has (hopefully) come to an end.
Should it have taken that long? Probably not.
According to Roger Fowler, director of the Department of Public Safety, many exhibitionism crimes go unreported, leaving the criminal to repeat the act as often as he desires.
After all, "the U of M flasher" exhibited no violence, no knife or gun, no threats. Just a man in a car, asking for directions to the mall, then exposing himself to women.
However, the FBI has stated violent sexual criminals often start out doing seemingly harmless -- if bothersome -- crimes such as voyeurism and exhibitionism.
And they are able to continue their exploits because nobody reports the crimes until it is too late and (at least in many cases) somebody has been physically harmed.
Students should realize exhibitionism and voyeurism are perpetual acts -- much like gateway drugs -- for those who commit them.
A flasher does not expose himself once and go home happy. It's a crime that will be committed over and over again. To stop the perpetrator, it is essential for such acts to be taken seriously by victims, like the 12 who reported encounters with the exhibitionist on campus.
But a police report is nothing more than a record of events in many cases. The victim must also be willing to file charges against the perpetrator -- something pursued by only two of the 12 in this case.
It is easy to walk away from an encounter with an exhibitionist and to return to normal life as if nothing is wrong. Filing a report with public safety is a hassle. Pressing charges takes even more time.
After all, many people rationalize, exhibitionism is a just a prank, a dare, something as inherent to college campuses as panty raids and weekend partying. And in most cases they'd be right.
However, to let exhibitionism go unreported is to give a potential sexual predator one more chance, one more opportunity to fulfill his fantasy. And unfortunately, the next victim may not get away unscathed.
