Leuven University (KUL) announced on Tuesday that it had dismissed with immediate effect a professor sentenced last October by the Tongeren Criminal Court to 54 months in prison for having sexually assaulted a student during a congress in Barcelona in 2016. The man has also had his civil service pension revoked. KUL took the most severe disciplinary sanction at its disposal by immediately dismissing the teacher.
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Leuven University fires professor who sexually assaulted student
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The man had appealed against previous measures imposed by the university’s internal disciplinary body. However, this appeal was rejected.
The sexual assualt took place during a congress in Barcelona in 2016. However, it only become known to the KUL two years later when a member of the victim's family visited KU Leuven.
When the news broke, the university was heavily criticised for being unresponsive. Even after the official complaint in 2018, the professor is reported to have been able to carry on working for many months and have been allowed to complete the academic year. The university’s lack of response had been at the behest of the Judicial Authorities that had asked it “not to do anything that could alert the suspect” to the fact that he was under investigation.
From September 2018, however, the university was allowed to take action against the professor. Since then, the man has not been allowed to come into contact with students or enter the university’s buildings. The sanction issued on Tuesday brings to an end the internal disciplinary procedure against the academic.