In the wake of Tuesday night's rape of a Harvard-affiliated woman in Byerly Hall, concerned employees raised questions yesterday about the building's security system, which they say has been broken for over a year.

The alarm, had it been working, would have alerted the Harvard University Police Department (HUPD) if the perpetrator broke in through an alarmed door, according to Francis D. "Bud" Riley, chief of police. At this point in the investigation, Riley said HUPD does not know how the perpetrator entered Byerly Hall.

"I have no evidence right now that either ties this crime to the alarm system or doesn't tie this crime to the alarm system," Riley said.

HUPD, which is conducting an ongoing investigation into the crime, released a community advisory and a composite sketch of the suspect yesterday.

The suspect is described as a white male, about six feet tall and 35 to 40 years old. He has very short hair, a thin build, and a thin acne-scarred face. He was last seen wearing a beige shirt, slacks and shoes.

Yesterday, Harvard and Radcliffe officials expressed differing opinions on the responsibility for the ongoing security breach.

Byerly Hall, which houses several offices in Harvard's Faculty of Arts and Sciences, including the Undergraduate and Graduate Office of Admissions and Financial Aid and the Student Employment Office, is owned by Radcliffe College.

Director of Admissions Marlyn McGrath Lewis '73, who works on the building's first floor, said her office has been in talks for several months with their Radcliffe College landlords about the need to do a security review.

"This building has always been a concern with its multiple egresses. It is used intensively at night and on weekends," Lewis said.