A professor fired from Fordham University after being accused of masturbating during a Zoom lecture is suing the Bronx school, alleging that his erectile dysfunction made prosecution "virtually impossible."
The student who filmed the video is also suing Fordham, claiming she faced retaliation after delivering the awkward 2020 video.
Howard Robinson, 68, was a senior lecturer at the university's Graduate School of Social Service when graduate student Andrea Morin filmed a video of the teacher appearing to masturbate during a class on Sept. 10, 2020, according to the lawsuits. .
But Robinson said in a Sept. 16 petition in the Bronx Superior Court that his erectile dysfunction and low testosterone levels make it "virtually impossible for him to get an erection or masturbate," which he had told school officials in subsequent investigation.
Morin alleged in his lawsuit that he saw Morin "above the waist and observed him for a period of 1.5 minutes, during which time he was shaking, gasping for air and saying … oh, fuck yeah." This happened when the students had divided into separate "break rooms" and had their camera turned off due to illness, according to court records.
He recorded the incident on his cell phone and reported it the same day, according to a complaint against the school, filed on September 21 in a federal court in the Southern District of New York
.
Shutterstock Morin claimed that she contacted Steve Albanese, the associate dean of the School and Continuing Professional Studies about the incident, after she was dissuaded by school counselors. initially to do so. She emailed Albanese sharing details of the alleged incident, as well as the video she had recorded. On September 12, 2020, the lawsuit claims that Robinson emailed Morin asking "how she was feeling" and that he was "thinking about her."
Robinson, of Somers, is requesting that his position at the university be reinstated, claiming that in the video he was not masturbating but was struggling not to urinate due to an enlarged prostate and other medical problems. He was emailing his students to send them a PowerPoint at the same time, his lawsuit claims.
Morin actually saw Robinson "grimacing and shifting his weight in his seat as he rushed to complete the message to his class before relieving himself," the petition read.
Robinson was fired from the university after what his petition called a "flawed investigation," which did not allow him the opportunity for a hearing.
If the sexual misconduct violations fall under Title IX, Robinson would be entitled to a live hearing from both parties, according to the lawsuit. For charges outside of Title IX, there is no hearing. The school found the incident to fall outside of Title IX, according to the lawsuit, which its petition called "patently absurd."
“It cannot be argued that a teacher masturbating in front of a student in class would be severe sexual harassment that falls within the scope of Title IX and therefore would require the due process protections prescribed by the Title IX regulations of May 2020 ”, the legal papers said.
Robinson was replaced by another full-time full-time professor who, according to Morin, failed her in retaliation for her complaint against Robinson. As a result of failing the course, his only failing grade of an otherwise healthy 3.52 GPA, he lost access to the program's scholarship and did not complete his course of study in time to graduate in May 2021, his lawsuit claims. That a delay in graduation prevented him from receiving an increase in his job, he further alleges
.
Be First to Comment