Netherlands man arrested after stalking woman on Penn State campus, police say
A Netherlands man was arrested Monday after a woman told police he twice flew to State College with the intention of meeting her, despite her telling him she was not interested in a relationship with him.
Tarik Hasan, 23, and the woman connected on the social network Reddit in the fall, Penn State police wrote in an affidavit of probable cause. By mid-December, she told Hasan she no longer wanted to speak with him.
Hasan first flew to State College in January, which the woman said made her “very uncomfortable,” police wrote. She even purchased a ticket for Hasan’s return flight and again told him she did not want to have a relationship, police wrote.
Hasan, police wrote, arrived back in State College on Friday. He went Monday to where the woman works, asked to meet with her and tried to push her door open as she locked it, police wrote.
The woman told an officer she was “extremely frightened and scared.” He remained in the building for about 5 1/2 hours and sent her more than 50 messages on the instant messaging service WhatsApp, police wrote.
Hasan told an officer he purchased a second cellphone so he could continue to message her because she blocked his primary number, police wrote.
Hasan has no ties to the university, Penn State police spokeswoman Jackie Sheader wrote Tuesday in an email to the Centre Daily Times. The charging document said Hasan is not a U.S. citizen.
No defense lawyer was listed.
Hasan was charged with one felony count of criminal trespassing, three misdemeanor counts of harassment and one misdemeanor count of stalking.
District Judge Allen Sinclair set bail Tuesday at $100,000, which Hasan did not post. He is incarcerated at the Centre County Correctional Facility. His preliminary hearing is scheduled for June 5.
