“Abraham Shorey” is still checking out books from the local library, according to a Tompkins County public library employee. However, it is not the real Shorey using the library card. Last Saturday, the employee told The Sun, was a traditionally slow day at the branch where he worked. He said that a man and a woman walked in together and browsed through the books. When he went to check out some VHS tapes and a pack of tarot cards, he presented the librarian with Shorey’s library card.
The librarian, who had seen Shorey in person previously, said that “There is not a doubt in my mind that the man who used Abraham Shorey’s library cards was not him.” He said that the man was about the same height, about 5-10 but otherwise was very dissimilar.
The librarian added that it is common for patrons to share library cards with friends and family members. The librarian asked not to be named for safety concerns.
A source with the Ithaca Police Department said that the department had not heard of any recent reports about Shorey’s whereabouts, and that he was believed to have left the county after he missed his Nov. 10 arraignment for felony charges of sexual abuse and second-degree burglarly.
The charges stemmed from an Oct. 24 incident in which a female resident of Maplewood Apartments reported that an unidentified man broke into her room and touched her. She later identified Shorey as the man who touched her, according to the IPD.
Ithaca Police Chief Lauren Signer has said that she is confident Shorey is the man known as the “Collegetown Creeper,” who had entered over 20 residences before the IPD arrested Shorey. Shorey has maintained his innocence, as have many of his friends and co-workers. Signer has said that Shorey gave a confession to many of the crimes.
Ithaca Police Deputy Chief Tom Graziani, however, told the Ithaca Journal that “He’s only confessed to [the Oct. 24 Dryden Road trespassing.]” Graziani said he was still confident Shorey was the Creeper.
Collegetown resident Adam Schuster ’05 said that he was still wary about future intrusions. “You can’t rule out similar incidents in the future,” he said. “I think the Creeper incident is over. However, it wouldn’t surprise me if similar incidents happen in the future.”
“I think the main things are that it’s over, and to prevent future incidents from happening.” Fellow Collegetown resident Bob Stephens ’05 said that he felt Shorey was gone, although he wasn’t as certain about his guilt.
“I think Abraham Shorey has left town,” he said. “But I’m hesitant to believe that every single attack that the IPD is accusing him of was in fact committed by him and not by someone else.”
“I’m very hesitant to believe that he did it,” he added. “But I don’t know, why would he run if he didn’t do it?”
Stephens had mixed feelings about the IPD’s handling of the case.
“I believe the police care, because it’s bad P.R. for the city and their force,” he said. “But at the same time, I really didn’t feel like they were making any progress until one day they caught him.”
Mike Bartelstone ’05 was more forceful in his criticism of the IPD, saying “I don’t think they’re doing a good job.”
He believes that Shorey is “long gone. I think he’d be really stupid to stay in Ithaca.”
William Furniss, Shorey’s lawyer at the arraignment, did not return a call in time for this article.
Archived article by MICHAEL MORISY
Sun Senior Writer