College students warned of man wanting to stroke their feet

The Wichita State University Police Department told students late last week to be aware of a man who had approached two female students on campus posing as a massage therapy student in order to rub their feet.

According to a safety alert the department sent to students, a female student reported being approached by the man in Ablah Library around 4:30 p.m. on Sept. 24.

The man asked whether he could practice his massage therapy on her, and “wanting to help a fellow student, she agreed and allowed him to massage her feet,” according to the alert.

She became uncomfortable and asked him to leave, which he did.

Another student reported an incident possibly with the same suspect at around 8 p.m. on Sept. 11, when she was asked by a similar-looking man: “Please, can I practice my massage on you?” She refused, and there was no physical contact.

The man is described as being in his late teens to mid-20s, white, with messy reddish or blonde hair, approximately 5-foot-7 to 5-foot-10 and weighing 130 to 150 pounds.

The incidents were brought to the attention of a public safety officer at a Minnesota college, who alerted WSU authorities that a suspect matching the same description and modus operandi has a history of similar incidents at colleges around the country.

Newman University sent an e-mail to its students on Monday afternoon warning of the foot-rubbing man, though he has not been reported on its campus. Newman’s e-mail identified the possible suspect as a 27-year-old man last known to be living in Portland, Ore.

According to an alert from Minneapolis Community and Technical College, that same man was on its campus in July, and he asked a female student whether he could massage her feet.

During the massage, the student became uncomfortable when the man proceeded to smell, kiss and lick her feet, according to the alert.

A man matching the same description, Thomas Matthew Jonas, is suspected of similar activities at the University of Oregon and, at Portland State University, was involved in an incident there that landed him in jail for 180 days.

According to the Oregonian, Jonas approached a woman at the Portland State library in 2014 to give her a foot massage. During the massage, he lay on the floor and pulled her toes close to his nose, which caused him to become sexually aroused.

Jonas also has been banned from the University of Wisconsin.

Joe Kleinsasser, a WSU spokesman, said the suspect in the Wichita case “likely has moved out of Wichita.”

Kleinsasser said he was served a no-trespass order early Tuesday morning, and will be arrested if he returns to WSU.

This story was originally published October 4, 2016 at 3:13 PM with the headline "College students warned of man wanting to stroke their feet."