The dean of the University of California (UC) Berkeley's law school has stepped down, filing an indefinite leave of absence after his executive assistant filed a lawsuit regarding sexual assault allegations. The other defendant on the lawsuit is the university itself as the woman claimed that they have not done enough to prevent the sexual harassment.
In a report by Salon, Berkeley Law Dean Sujit Choudhry is accused of kissing and touching his assistant, identified as Tyann Sorrell. He repeatedly did such to Sorrell and she was even punished by receiving a temporary pay cut due to a campus investigation in 2015.
Despite the indefinite leave of absence, Choudhry is said to remain as a faculty member and earn a professor's salary at the school while an acting dean will be filling his spot, Provost Claude Steele said in a statement. Steele added that they believe decreasing the dean's salary by 10 percent for a year as well as requiring him to undergo counseling will be an appropriate and effective response to the issue, The Exponent Telegram reported. He will also be asked to apologize to Sorrell as well.
Sorrell, on the other hand, will be allowed to go on leave with full pay but it is unclear for how long and if she has agreed to this.
The attorney of Sorrell, John Winer, said in a statement that Berkeley's Office for the Prevention of Harassment and Discrimination concluded that his client's statements were credible. The department also came to a conclusion that Choudhry's behavior did violate the campus' sex harassment policies. However, as per a written report from the campus investigation, the dean is not disputing the actions he did towards Sorrell but the frequency is being questioned.
41-year-old Sorrell said that the unwanted physical contact, which includes bear hugs, kisses on the face, as well as arm and shoulder rubs happened almost daily. Choudhry, on the other hand, claims it happens once to twice a week only. The married mother of five also said that she worked for the school's previous dean for two years and did not have such problems. When Choudhry stepped in as the dean in July 2014, the inappropriate actions started months after and lasted until March 2015.
The Washington Post reported that Sorrell claimed she suffered from insomnia, hair loss, depression and anxiety. She said that she feared she would lose her job if she says something about the issue. By March of 2015, she then decided to e-mail Choudhry that she felt violated. It was also forwarded to the human resource department.
The lawsuit against UC and Choudhry comes five months after a prominent astronomer at Berkeley, Geoffrey Marcy, resigned saying that the school had validated the sexual harassment complaints from former female students. He was not demoted or suspended from his job despite the revelations.
Another incident involved another Berkeley Law dean, John Dwyer, who resigned in 2002 after a former student alleged him of molesting her. It reportedly occurred after a night of drinking at the former student's apartment. Dwyer noted that the relationship was consensual but did acknowledge that he acted inappropriately.
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