Penn State police on Tuesday charged a man from the Netherlands accused of twice traveling to State College and harassing a woman who told him she did not want a relationship with him.
The woman told police she began communicating with Tarik Hasan, 23, through WhatsApp last fall but in December told him she no longer wanted to speak with him, police wrote in an affidavit of probable cause.
Hasan, however, continued sending her messages and in January, without the woman’s prior knowledge, flew from his home in the Netherlands to State College to try start a relationship with her, according to the affidavit. The woman told police his presence in State College made her “very uncomfortable,” so much so that she purchased a plane ticket for him to fly back to the Netherlands and advised him she did not want any further communication with him.
He contacted the woman again on Friday and told her he was in State College, police wrote. The woman said she deleted WhatsApp so he could not contact her again, but at about 12:30 p.m. on Monday he showed up at the building she works in on the Penn State campus, according to the affidavit.
Hasan ignored directions from other employees to wait on another floor, then followed the woman and attempted to push his way into the room she entered as she tried close the door, police wrote. The woman managed to lock the door but was “extremely frightened and scared,” according to the affidavit.
When Hasan later saw someone leave the room, he again tried to speak to the woman and was told he needed to leave, police wrote.
The woman said he downloaded WhatsApp again to tell him to leave her alone and found numerous messages from Hasan, but from a different number than he previously used. He sent more than 50 messages while an officer was speaking with the woman, according to the affidavit.
After he was taken into custody, Hasan was found to have two cell phones. He said he obtained another phone to message the woman because she had blocked his previous number, police wrote.
Hasan is not a U.S. citizen, has no ties to the area and his only reason for traveling to State College was to meet the woman, according to the affidavit.
He is charged with a felony count of criminal trespass and four misdemeanor counts of harassment.
Hassan was arraigned on Tuesday morning by District Judge Allen Sinclair, who set straight bail at $100,000. He was unable to post bail and is detained at the Centre County Correctional Facility.
A preliminary hearing is scheduled for June 5.
