A man who is accused of masturbating and ejaculating onto a computer screen, keyboard, and chair at Colorado State University’s Morgan Library characterized the charges against him as a “witch-hunt” by overzealous library officials.
However, a witness says he’s sure Fort Collins resident Larry Holgerson, 48, is the man who ejaculated in Room 165 late last month in the library.
Police last week ordered Holgerson to appear in court. They issued him a court summons after library employee Robert Cerda identified him as the man who had used the allegedly semen-spattered computer, according to the report.
For his part, Holgerson says he was in Room 165 at the library on Jan. 27, but vehemently denies masturbating. He also says that his age and physical limitations make the charges ridiculous.
“For him to conclude that I have the ejaculatory capacity to hit the screen is ludicrous,” said Holgerson. “At 48, I don’t have the distance.”
Holgerson, is not a CSU student, but says he often uses Morgan Library to edit magazine articles.
“This whole thing is turning out to be a nightmare for someone who just wanted to use the library,” he lamented.
Cerda, a junior animal sciences major, is the only witness to the incident, police say, although he admits he did not see Holgerson commit the alleged act. Cerda has maintained silence about the incident, saying he’d rather not speak to the media about the matter.
According to police reports, at about 7:15 p.m. on Jan. 27, Cerda claimed to have seen a man making odd bodily movements, but didn’t think much of it at the time.
However, when the man left, Cerda walked over to where the man had been sitting and saw the sticky residue.
Cerda said the man making strange motions was the last to leave the room.
Police weren’t contacted about the incident because Holgerson already had left library and his identity was unknown at the time.
However, at about 3 p.m. on Jan. 30, Cerda spotted Holgerson in the library again and alerted police that the man he saw masturbating three days earlier had just exited the library.
Police caught up with Holgerson and escorted him back to the library.
“[Cerda] never claimed to see me do anything,” Holgerson said.
Police issued a summons ordering Holgerson to appear in court for “disposing bodily waste” in a place not consistent with local law. The Fort Collins municipal code mandates all “human bodily waste” be disposed of in “a toilet, urinal, or other receptacle designed, intended, and made available for such use.”
A computer is not designed or intended for such a use.
Lt. Mark Childress of the CSU Police Department took a sample of the white substance, but was not available for comment.
According to Holgerson, he has not been asked to provide a semen sample, but he’s confident that if he does, it won’t match.
Holgerson theorizes his summons is the result of a “witch-hunt.” The university, he says, has a problem with patrons viewing pornography, and that he’s just a scapegoat to show they’re cracking down.
“They’re overzealous about it,” he said.
George Jaramillo, assistant dean of the library, said library officials are not cracking down on viewing legal pornography.
“We only have the authority to call the police if they’re viewing child porn,” he said. “Other than that we haven’t done anything to crack down. That would be a violation of student rights.”
Holgerson denies viewing pornography in the library. He said he will fight the masturbation allegation in court and will clear his name.
He is set to appear in court on March 13.
