• • Suspect had history of filming women at a high school, another university campus, and a Walmart store.
  • Arrest marks second time in five months that a person was arrested for stalking a Southern Adventist University student.
  • Southern Adventist University to launch an emergency app with fast, one-touch method to contact police.

26 April 2022 | Paul Michael Germaine, a man with a history of stalking women, was arrested for stalking a female student at Southern Adventist University in Collegedale, Tennessee, U.S., on April 21, 2022, according to a Collegedale police statement on Facebook.

Germaine’s arrest marks the second time in five months that a person has been arrested for stalking a Southern Adventist University student. In November 2021, Claude Abran Finch allegedly stalked a female student before sexually assaulting another female student.

According to page 48 of Southern’s 2021 Annual Security and Fire Safety Report, 6 on-campus stalking incidents were reported in 2020; 9 were reported in 2019.

• • AdventHealth University in Florida, U.S., reported 8 stalking incidents in 2020 (at AdventHealth Orlando Hospital), 0 in 2019 (page 18).
  • Andrews University in Michigan, U.S., reported 0 stalking incidents in 2020, 1 in 2019 (page 9).
  • La Sierra University in California, U.S., reported 0 stalking incidents in 2020, 3 in 2019 (page 11).
  • Oakwood University in Alabama, U.S., reported 2 stalking incidents in 2020, 1 in 2019 (page 60).
  • Pacific Union College in California, U.S., reported 0 stalking incidents in 2020, 1 in 2019 (page 79).
  • Southwestern Adventist University in Texas, U.S., reported 2 stalking incidents in 2020, 0 in 2019 (page 34).
  • Union College in Nebraska, U.S., reported 0 stalking incidents in 2020, 2 in 2019 (page 10).
  • Walla Walla University, College Place campus in Washington State, U.S., reported 0 incidents of stalking in 2020, 2 in 2019 (page 18).
  • Washington Adventist University in Maryland, U.S., reported 0 incidents of stalking in 2020, 0 in 2019 (page 9).

Notably, these numbers only reflect reported cases; the actual number of stalking incidents could be greater at these universities. However, compared to the Adventist schools listed above, Southern Adventist University appears to have a higher frequency of stalking.

“Southern employees take the safety of our students very seriously,” said Isaac James, a Southern Adventist University spokesperson, in an email to Adventist Today.

Some of Southern’s protective measures include providing safety escorts to any student on campus and working closely with the police department to ban from the campus any individual who has been identified as a threat.

James also said the university would be launching an emergency alert app that provides students and employees with a fast, one-touch method to contact the police department.

“We will continue to evaluate and prioritize the safety of our campus,” said James. “Please join us in ongoing prayer for the protection and well-being of our campus family.”

Germaine, who has no affiliation with Southern Adventist University, allegedly began stalking a female student in March 2022, reported police. The student reported that on March 5, 2022, she noticed an older white man following her around campus and into the school cafeteria, where he appeared to watch her eat with friends.

Later that day, the student said she saw the same man standing by her car when she exited her dormitory. As she approached her car, the man walked to his own car, pulled out a backpack and approached her with his hand inside the backpack. At that point the student ran back to her dorm. The man then returned to his car and left the scene.

A month later, the student reported that the same man was back on campus and following her again.

The university provided video surveillance footage of the man to Collegedale police, who shared the footage with other area agencies.

A school resource officer for Ooltewah High School identified the man in the video as Germaine. The school resource officer said Germaine had been removed from the grounds of the high school in October 2021 after he had been caught filming cheerleaders and acting strangely during a football game.

Germaine lives in Ooltewah, an enclave in Collegedale about three miles from Southern Adventist University, but has no affiliation with Ooltewah High School or any of the students there, reported police.

Police also reported Germain had been removed from the campus of the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga in October 2019 for videotaping college women. He also had been removed from a local Walmart in May 2021 for videotaping female shoppers.

Germaine is currently out on a $35,000 (USD) bond.

Updated April 27, 2022 with more crime statistics and page information.

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(Photo: A man was arrested on April 21, 2022, for stalking a student at Southern Adventist University, seen here on April 1, 2022. This arrest marks the second time in five months that a person has been arrested for stalking a student on campus. Photo via Southern Adventist University’s Facebook page.)

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