Press Release 4.6.16
NEWS SERVICE BREAKING NEWS
2 PM Oakland Press Conference
UC Berkeley Sexual Harassment Victim Tyann Sorrell Reacts to 463 Page Freedom Information Documents
“I’m shocked at what appears to have been a deliberate suppression of years of sexual abuse and harassment information on the part of executive level at UC Berkeley. I worked on that campus since 2012 and never heard anything about any of these cases.”
Tyann Sorrell Sexual harassment victim UC Berkeley Law Dean
For Immediate Release
CONTACT: Lee Houskeeper (415) 777-4700
Cell: (415) 654-9141
Newsservice@aol.com
Attorney John D. Winer
Winer, Burritt & Tillis LLP
Phone: 888-884-4529
E Mail: John@WMlawyers.com
Website: WMlawyers.com
WHO: Tyann Sorrell (sexual harassment victim of UC Berkeley Law School Dean), Attorney John Winer
WHAT: Press Conference
WHEN: 2PM TODAY Wednesday, April 6, 2016
WHERE: WINER, BURRITT & TILLIS, LLP
1901 Harrison Street, Suite 1100
Oakland, CA 94612
Oakland CA—After spending much of the night pouring over yesterday’s 463 pages of UC Berkeley’s sordid history of sexual harassment and abuse cases one of the major victims will speak out at a 2pm press conference.
Today Tyann Sorrell said “I’m shocked at what appears to have been a deliberate suppression of years of sexual abuse and harassment information on the part of executive level at UC Berkeley. I worked on that campus since 2012 and never heard anything about any of these cases.”
Her attorney John Winer stated, “In Tyann’s case there was absolutely no focus on what was best for Tyann. The entire focus was on protecting their dean and professors. If you want to really commit to ending sexual harassment and sexual abuse at UC you must send a message loud and clear that when someone comes forward and complains about being sexually harassed that there will be a fair and thorough investigation. That if as a result of that investigation there is a finding of sexual harassment that the perpetrator will be severely disciplined-probably fired and that the victim will be honored for coming forward because she has done your university an enormous favor by helping you root out dangerous employees and protecting every person who would have been violated by that perpetrator in the future.”
UC Berkeley: 19 employees violated sexual harassment policy since 2011
By Katy Murphy and Thomas Peele, Staff writers
BERKELEY — A trove of investigative and disciplinary documents released by UC Berkeley in the midst of an unfolding sexual harassment scandal reveal 19 employees — including six faculty members — were found to be in violation of the university’s sexual misconduct policies since 2011.
A preliminary review of the records — obtained Tuesday by this newspaper in response to a Public Records Act request filed in November — shows:
- Four employees were fired, two were demoted and two were suspended as consequences for their behavior.
- Five eventually resigned from the university, and two others resigned from their positions.
- Seven of the victims were students and 10 were employees.
The release of the reports come as UC Berkeley faces a growing outcry over its handling of sexual harassment and misconduct on campus. Although UC-wide policy lists possible sanctions from least to most severe — written censure, reduction in salary, demotion, suspension, denial or curtailment of emeritus status, and dismissal — news reports in the past six months revealed that three faculty members who violated the sexual harassment policy received the lightest of the sanctions.
Former law school dean Sujit Choudhry received a 10 percent pay cut but was initially allowed to keep his position after he was found to have sexually harassed his executive assistant.
Lee Houskeeper
San Francisco Stories
(415) 777-4700
Cell: (415) 654-9141
Newsservice@aol.com
615 Burnett Avenue, Suite 2, San Francisco, CA 94131