Students criticized yesterday the Harvard Police's distribution of a composite sketch of the man believed to have raped two Leverett House women three weeks ago.

"Posting the sketch has increased paranoia in Leverett House," Valerie Moore '79 said yesterday. "Students have even reported each other," Moore added.

"It may be good to have a composite sketch but the psychological effect is terrible," Julie Martz '80 said yesterday, adding, "I see it on my out and I think that's who I'm going to meet."

"The composite sketch is the first one ever posted in Harvard houses though making a sketch is routine police procedure," Capt. Jack Morse of the Harvard Police said yesterday. The decision to release and circulate the sketch was reached by a concensus of the officers working on the case, Morse added.

The poor quality of the reproduction has added to the general criticism of the sketch, Kim Fletcher '79 of Leverett House said, "It looks like no one and everyone you know."

Morse said yesterday although the original composite sketch was "fairly clear," he also was not satisfied with the Xeroxed reproduction.

"We didn't mean to overly alarm people," Morse said yesterday, adding, "I don't think that's possible with rational Harvard students."