Man sneaks into art class, takes photo of nude model

An art class was interrupted Thursday when a man slipped in and took a photo of a nude model before fleeing.

Ball State University police received a call Thursday afternoon reporting someone ran into a sketching class on the fourth floor of the Art and Journalism Building, used his camera phone to take a picture of a nude model and ran out, Gene Burton, director of public safety, said.

Police were looking for a white, college-aged man with dark-brown hair, Burton said, but no one was found as of Thursday afternoon. The man went through a door that is normally locked in order to get into the class, Burton said.

Michael Prater, interim chairman of the Department of Art, said the man was waiting outside the classroom, and he thinks it was a prank.

Either he planned it or took advantage of it," Prater said. "This is very concerning for us because working with a model is part of the curriculum."

Police responded quickly, Prater said, and the situation was handled well.

"Periodically, over the years, any time you take models, this kind of thing happens," he said.

Daniel Human contributed to this report.