University, professor named in lawsuit
Ashley Evans
Issue date: 9/12/07 Section: News
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According to the lawsuit, 33-year-old Judy Aguilar accused associate Spanish professor and Foreign Languages Department Chair Wilfrido Corral of allegedly pressuring her for dates, telling her to cheat on her husband and hugging and kissing her against her will.
In the lawsuit, which was filed in Sacramento Superior Court on Mar. 20, Aguilar alleged that the harassment began in the fall of 2005 after she told Corral that stress in her marriage had caused her to fall behind in her studies. Aguilar claims that Corral later said that she could either hold out sexually or cheat on her husband.
Aguilar has also named Sac State and members of the California State University Board of Trustees in her suit, claiming that they "failed to take reasonable steps to prevent the harassment."
Corral, who became a full-time faculty member in 2003, refused to comment.
According to the lawsuit, Aguilar alleged that university officials had been previously notified and were aware of similar allegations against Corral.
The allegations Aguilar referred to were those made by another of Corral's former students.
On March 28, 2006, a student approached Gary Shannon, a professor in the mathematics department, and asked if it was acceptable behavior for a student to date a professor.
"I told her that it was definitely not OK," Shannon said.
The student confided that she had been asked out numerous times by Corral, her professor at the time, but continually made excuses because she felt uncomfortable and pressured, Shannon said.
"Part of her concern was regarding
cultural differences," Shannon said. "I reassured her that it wasn't an excuse for what he was doing."
Shannon said he contacted the head of human resources and ultimately an outside investigator was brought in to look into the alleged instances of sexual misconduct.
University policy prohibits professors
from dating or engaging in sexual affairs with students who are currently enrolled in their classes.
"No person who has instructional
responsibilities… shall have an amorous relationship (consensual or otherwise) with a student who is enrolled in a course taught by (them)," the policy states.
According to the lawsuit, Aguilar did not invite nor encourage Corral's "sexual comments" and froze when he hugged and kissed her.
As a result, Aguilar claims she has suffered "humiliation, emotional distress…pain and anguish."
Aguilar is suing for an undetermined
amount of money.
Aguilar and her attorney, Peter F. Samuel of Samuel & Samuel Attorneys At Law, did not respond to e-mails.
Vice President of Public Affairs Frank Whitlatch said he could not comment on previous complaints or the actual lawsuit because they are "personnel matters."
"We take these complaints very seriously and look into them thoroughly," he said.
However, Shannon questioned whether Sac State dealt with the allegations properly.
"I have naively assumed that this would be grounds for firing but…there are no apparent consequences for his actions," Shannon said.
According to My Sac State, Corral
is teaching one class this semester.
"It's not right," Shannon said. "Students should be safe in their classes."
University Counsel Edmundo Aguilar said that while he can't discuss any specifics, he is extremely confident in the actions of university administrators.
"We feel that we've taken the appropriate
measures and that the outcome of the lawsuit will show that," Aguilar said.
CSU Media Relations Specialist Paul Browning said that as far as he knows, the CSU and its board members had not been notified of the lawsuit.
"I can't comment on the actual suit because I'm unsure of any specifics," Browning said. "It's quite common, however, for the (CSU) Board of Trustees to be named in a suit of this nature."
Sac State's Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Director Peter Lau said faculty members face a diverse range of punishments if an allegation of sexual assault is made against them and authenticated.
"A lot goes into the process," Lau said. "Results for a (faculty member) being found guilty of violating university policy can range from a counseling memo to dismissal."
Lau said the university's policy on faculty-students relations was created to protect students from being violated, taken advantage of or manipulated by professors who are figures of authority. He said the policy recognizes the power differential between students and their professors, the latter who have control of a student's grades and letters of recommendations, among other things.
"This is why we say that (faculty-
student relationships) can't be consensual," Lau said.
Natalye Childress Smith contributed
to this report.
Ashley Evans can be reached at aevans@statehornet.com.
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