A scavenger hunt organized by four residential clusters went awry early Tuesday morning when a freshman participant was caught with his pants down.
Hanover Police arrested Timothy O'Leary '97 outside 5 Rope Ferry Road after receiving a report from Safety and Security about a "man with no pants or underwear," a police spokesman said.
O'Leary said he stood outside partially naked to get 100 points for the scavenger hunt. One of the scavenger hunt's 69 items asked participants for a "police citation with YOUR name on it for indecent exposure."
O'Leary said he was disrobed for less than one minute and that one of his teammates went into Safety and Security, which is located at 5 Rope Ferry Road, to report the indecent exposure.
"I didn't want to get arrested. I just wanted a citation from Safety and Security," O'Leary said. "Hanover Police arrived and I had to be arrested. Things didn't go according to the plan."
He said he was "a little concerned" when Hanover Police came to take him to headquarters.
The rules of the game
Forty groups of one to four students are participating in the scavenger hunt, which began on Monday and runs through Friday.
Residents of the East Wheelock, RipWoodSmith, Topliff-New Hamp and the Gold Coast clusters are eligible to participate in the scavenger hunt but the deadline for new entries has passed.
According to a BlitzMail message sent by Gregory Lief '97, a member of the East Wheelock Cluster Council, which organized the game, students collect items worth varying amounts of points.
The citation, worth 100 points, is the most valuable item on the list, except for a winning instant lottery ticket, which is valued at its prize money.
Each member of the winning team will receive a portable compact disc player.
"What I can say is that I am a team player," O'Leary said. "I did it for the team." He said he thinks his team will win.
Hanover Police Sgt. Chris O'Connor said, "In my eight years of prosecuting, I have never heard of that happening, if ... he's been trying to get points for a scavenger hunt."
Illegal methods forbidden
Lief said, "In no way was our intent to have people exposing themselves in order to receive an indecent exposure citation. Rather, we had hoped for them to obtain one in another manner, a legal manner, such as asking to have a fake one written for them."
He wrote last night in a BlitzMail message that those participating in the scavenger hunt who obtained items illegally would not receive credit. He apologized for "any trouble this may have caused."
He added that the scavenger hunt's rules clearly state "that no illegal means may be used to obtain any of the listed items."
O'Leary said four cars from Safety and Security and Hanover Police arrived to find him half naked. He said the arresting officers "thought it was hysterical" and offered to give him any other documentation to prove he had been given a citation -- and arrested -- for indecent exposure.
Misdemeanor, not citation
But Hanover's judges may not be so amused.
Indecent exposure is a Class B Misdemeanor, which carries a maximum fine of $1,200, but is not punishable by jail time. Depending on circumstances, including an offender's previous record, indecent exposure could be charged as a Class A misdemeanor, which is punishable by a maximum of one year in the House of Corrections and a $2000 fine, O'Connor said.
O'Leary will be arraigned on May 25 in Hanover District Court.
O'Connor added he does not think the judge "will take too kindly" to O'Leary's actions because they were motivated by a scavenger hunt.
David Gonzalez '95, an area coordinator in the East Wheelock cluster, said O'Leary was charged with a misdemeanor because some of his friends reported him to Safety and Security. If Safety and Security had found O'Leary without receiving a report, he would have been given a citation, Gonzalez said.
Gonzalez said the original scavenger hunt list specifically stated that participants should not to do anything illegal to get the items but that he takes "full responsibility for everything."
"Of course I looked over the list ... but I honestly didn't assume this would happen," Gonzalez said. He said he suspected it might be embarrassing for a student to approach a Safety and Security officer with a request for an indecent exposure citation; he did not think that anyone might actually remove their clothes to be issued one.
Teams go for points
When asked if he would recommend his actions to other groups, O'Leary said, "Absolutely not."
"We have what we want," he added. "And I will be fully dressed on campus from now on."
But Phillip Cheung '97, whose team is also participating in the scavenger hunt, said, "We plan to get a citation. Whatever it takes."
Cheung said he would not disclose how his team was going to go about getting a citation.
Other items on the scavenger hunt list include: the recipe for a Bavarian torte (35 points), a Harvard University Dining Services cap (90 points), a size 33C Dartmouth green underwire bra (50 points), a Skelator doll (60 points), 25 grains of sand (30 points), a specific issue of The Dartmouth (60 points) and the head of a New Kids on The Block doll (80 points).
College Proctor Robert McEwen could not be reached for comment yesterday.
