Newly released documents detail how 19 employees were found in violation of the university’s sexual harassment policy since 2011.
Jeff Chiu / AP
More than 400 pages of documents detailing investigative and disciplinary proceedings by the University of California, Berkeley reveal how 19 employees were found to have violated the university's sexual misconduct policy since 2011.
The documents — which include records such as investigation findings, official university letters, and emails — were obtained and first reported on Monday by the Mercury News. They detail the complaints lodged against the employees, including six faculty members, such as Geoff Marcy, the renowned astronomy professor, Sujit Choudhry, dean of the law school, and assistant basketball coach Yann Hufnagel.
Marcy and Choudhry resigned; Hufnagel was fired.
Of the six non-tenured faculty members in the findings, three are still on staff, two stepped down from their roles, and three resigned, the Mercury News reported. Four staff members were fired, two resigned, two were suspended, three were demoted, one appealed and one received an official warning.
Scott Anderson, a former disability counselor, was accused of sending sexual emails to a student with a psychiatric disability.
The university's investigation found that Anderson sent at least 167 emails to the student from Aug. 14, 2008 to Nov. 10, 2009, according to the documents.
In one email, Anderson wrote, "I knew it was a bad idea to take Levitra before I read your email." When investigators asked him about the comment, which references erectile dysfunction medication, Anderson said it was "an ill advised attempt at humor."
In another email, the complainant told Anderson to "kiss my ass."
"Kiss it? Only after I spanked it," Anderson responded, according to the documents.
In another email, Anderson attached a photo of whipped cream and handcuffs and asked the student what she was dong for Valentine's Day.
Anderson also referred to the complainant as "hot pants." When she responded with "I'm wearing a miniskirt not pants," Anderson wrote back "Oh sweet lord. Can't … a hmmm a miniskirt. Needs pics. RITE NAO."
Investigators located 17 photos of the complainant on Anderson's hard drive, according to the documents. The woman denied she sent them to him and claims Anderson must have downloaded them from her Facebook page.
Anderson resigned after being given a notice of intent to dismiss. He did not immediately return requests from comment.
Two superintendents were suspended after it was discovered they made a lewd, sexualized comments about an employee.
The two men were found to have said an employee has "bedbugs in her pussy," according to the documents.
Alan Wong, a massage therapist at Berkeley's recreational sports facility, was fired after a woman said he touched her vagina several times during a message session. The woman, who filed the complaint anonymously, said she froze during the incident.
"He kept pretending it was part of the normal routine," the woman wrote in her complaint. Wong denied the allegations in interviews with investigators.
Investigators said credibility is key when assessing two opposing statements.
"Complainant's choice to remain anonymous must be considered," they wrote, according to the documents. "It is troubling to receive such a serious allegation, with potentially serious consequences for the person accused, from an unnamed complainant."
They went on to say that there was no apparent motive for the woman to lie and that the Wong had a lot at stake.
Ultimately, investigators concluded that it is "more likely than not" that Wong "subjected the complainant to nonconsensual physical sexual activity."
The university said Monday it formed a committee on sexual violence, harassment and assault.
"The work of the Committee will begin next week and will report to the President and Chancellor by October 15, 2016. The committee will examine and address culture issues and review and make recommendations for improving all campus services, policies and practices relating to the prevention, remediation, adjudication, and sanctioning of sexual violence, harassment and assault against students, staff and faculty on the UC Berkeley campus," the university said in a statement.
from BuzzFeed - USNews http://ift.tt/1SAViRs
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