University police Sgt. Manuel Aguayo said his department is working with the San Jose Police Department in the investigation.
The three incidents this morning all occurred within about two hours of each other, San Jose police Officer Jermaine Thomas said. It appears all three victims are female students, but police have not yet confirmed they all attend the university.
The first incident this morning happened shortly after 9 a.m. at North Eighth and St. James streets.
"The subject approached the victim from behind, hugged her and touched her inappropriately," Thomas said.
He said similar incidents happened at about 11:05 a.m. at East San Carlos and South 12th streets and at 11:13 a.m. in the 400 block of East San Fernando Street.
The suspect in all three incidents was described as a Hispanic man, 20 to 30 years old and 5 feet 8 inches tall. He is clean-shaven with short hair and was wearing a black jacket.
Aguayo said another sexual battery was reported on Monday. In that incident, a female student was walking from the university's Fourth Street parking lot to Duncan Hall, on the south side of the campus, when a suspect on a bicycle approached her and touched her inappropriately from behind.
"The suspect is still at large and bares a similar description to the suspect from today's incident," Aguayo said. That suspect was described as having a dark complexion, being in his mid-30s and wearing a black sweatshirt and blue jeans.
Aguayo said university police are distributing fliers tonight to alert the campus community of the incidents, and will likely send out an e-mail to students Thursday.
Students are urged to be aware of their surroundings at all times, not to walk alone at night and not to be distracted by electronics such as MP3 players. Additionally, Aguayo said students may request an evening guide escort from the university Police Department.
