Southeast custodian charged with assault

Charges have been filed against an employee of Southeast Missouri State University for allegedly assaulting a fellow employee.

According to Assistant Prosecutor Gordon Glaus, Vincent Spicer, 41, of Cape Girardeau was charged with two counts of first-degree class A misdemeanor sexual misconduct, and one count of third-degree class C misdemeanor assault.

Spicer, a custodian at the university, allegedly accosted the 24-year-old female victim, also a custodian, while she was cleaning a bathroom on or about March 19. He attempted to kiss her and put his hands on her, Glaus said.

"She was able to push him away," Glaus said. "He stopped and apologized at the time."

The woman reported the incident to her supervisor who subsequently reported it to the office of the assistant to the president for equity issues, according to university spokesman Art Walhausen. From there the matter went to the university's Department of Public Safety where it was determined to be a criminal act and turned over to the prosecutor's office.

Charges were filed March 31 against Spicer and he was also placed on administrative leave from the university. Glaus said that Spicer has not yet been served with a summons and no court date has been set.

Dr. Mel Gillespie, assistant to the president for equity issues at the university, is out of the country and unavailable for comment.

The university's policy on sexual harassment, on its Web site, states that "sexual harassment is reprehensible and will not be tolerated by the university."

There is a lengthy set of operating procedures outlining what to do in the event someone at the university believes he or she has been harassed.