Man falsely posing as Stanford student lived in campus dorms for 10 months
William Curry’s “persistence and ability to ingratiate himself” with the student community saw him live in five dorms for nearly a year before being caught this week, the university says
An Alabama man pretended to be a Stanford University student and squatted in dorm rooms for 10 months, according to university officials.
William Curry reportedly harassed at least one student and was removed from campus several times by college officials, but was able to return repeatedly and blend in again, according to The Stanford Daily.
He was evicted on Thursday after allegedly stealing a television from the Crothers Hall student residence basement, the college paper reported.
Stanford spokeswoman Dee Mostofi told The Independent in a statement that Mr Curry was cited by university officials in December 2021 after he was found to have been living on campus.
Despite issuing several stay-away letters, a requirement before trespass orders can be given, Mr Curry was only located on Thursday, Ms Mostofi said in a statement.
She said Mr Curry’s “persistence and ability to ingratiate himself with our student community” had exposed gaps in college protocols aimed at preventing non-students from entering and living in dorms.
“We will immediately undertake a review to ensure our procedures do not allow for this type of incident to happen again,” Ms Mostofi told The Independent.
The Stanford Daily reported that the “imposter” had lived in five dorms and was known to several members of staff before he was located by police this week. The graduate of Alabama’s Vestavia Hills High School had posed as a sophomore studying pre-med.
He also created a Tinder profile and dated a Stanford student, The Daily reported.
Stanford did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
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