Penn State professor charged with stalking female faculty member on campus
A Penn State professor was accused Wednesday of stalking a female faculty member who told a university police detective it caused substantial emotional distress and led her to consider seeking treatment.
Brandon A. Schwartz, a 36-year-old assistant research professor in the Department of Energy and Mineral Engineering, was accused of following the woman inside the Willard Building and also using a cell phone to look up her dress.
Schwartz, of Lemont, will plead not guilty, defense lawyer Brian Manchester wrote in an email Thursday. He declined further comment.
A university spokesperson did not directly answer if Schwartz was disciplined.
”The University is aware of these disturbing criminal charges and is investigating in accordance with Penn State policy and applicable law,” spokesman Wyatt DuBois wrote in an email Thursday. “The University is committed to maintaining a safe environment for all members of the Penn State Community.”
The woman first noticed Schwartz in June. He would often linger in a stairway during the same 15-minute period, a detective wrote in an affidavit of probable cause.
Video, the detective wrote, showed Schwartz would leave his office in the Hosler Building at 2 p.m. and head to the nearby Willard Building. He walked the hallway adjacent to the woman’s classroom and would often wait in the stairway for upward of 30 minutes, police wrote.
Schwartz, police wrote, appeared to “have no legitimate business in the Willard Building.” He was accused of following the woman twice in July and August.
Investigators were granted a search warrant earlier this month. They reviewed Schwartz’s internet search history, which included looking up the woman’s name. He also search for information about Peeping Toms and voyeurism, police wrote.
The woman identified Schwartz in a photo array of eight people, police wrote.
Schwartz told investigators he entered the Willard Building for exercise and denied following any female faculty members. No images of the woman were found on his phone, though a detective intimated they may have been deleted.
Schwartz was charged with four misdemeanor counts of stalking and two misdemeanor counts of attempted invasion of privacy.
He was arraigned Thursday by District Judge Steven Lachman, who released him pending his appearance at future court hearings. His preliminary hearing is scheduled for Oct. 19.
This story was originally published September 22, 2022 at 2:12 PM.