tiger inn.jpg

File photo: Tiger Inn in Princeton. (Frank Jacobs III)

PRINCETON — Police are investigating a report of a photo of a sex act taken at a Princeton University eating club and then transmitted electronically, officials said Tuesday.

Princeton Police Chief Nick Sutter said that no victim has been identified and no witnesses have come forward in the alleged Oct. 10 incident. The investigation is based on a third-hand account passed along by a reporter for Planet Princeton, who contacted police on Monday, he said.

The online local news site posted a story Tuesday afternoon with details of the alleged incident citing "some students" as the source.

Sutter said it is unclear if any crime has been committed and if the photo exists.

“Allegedly there’s a picture out there,” Sutter said, though no one in the police department has seen it. “We don’t know anything until we have some sort of statement from witnesses at least or a victim.

"Our department is taking a proactive approach by inquiring into the alleged incident but without a victim reporting or a witness coming forward, the extent of this investigation is limited," Sutter said.

The Princeton University daily crime log on Tuesday listed a "sexual assault" allegation reported on Monday evening having occurred on Oct. 10 at 48 Prospect Ave., which is the address of the Tiger Inn.

"We cannot categorize it as sex assault without much more information, from our perspective," Sutter said.

Princeton University is aware of the situation and an investigation is underway, university spokesman Martin Mbugua said. Princeton’s Police Department has jurisdiction over incidents at the Tiger Inn location, he said.

"We have been in consultation with the Princeton University Department of Public Safety as well as the Mercer County Prosecutor’s Office regarding this incident," Sutter said.

Hap Cooper, president of the Tiger Inn board of governors, said “there are ongoing investigations at both Tiger Inn and the university, so we are holding comment until the conclusion of those inquiries.” He declined to comment further on the nature of those investigations.

Club president Oliver Bennett said, "We are cooperating fully with the university in their investigation."

“We cannot comment in further detail while the investigation is ongoing,” he said.

Princeton's Police Department is asking anyone with any information regarding this incident to contact the detective bureau at (609) 921-2100.

“We’ll continue to wait to see if we can do due diligence and look to see if someone comes forward,” Sutter said.

Earlier this year, most of the undergraduate board of Tiger Inn resigned after a party held at the eating club at which members failed to follow proper security procedures.

Nicole Mulvaney may be reached at nmulvaney@njtimes.com. Follow her on Twitter @NicoleMulvaney. Find The Times of Trenton on Facebook.