An investigation into whether student body President Cade Bernsen sexually harassed co-workers continues, despite the president’s recent announcement that he has been cleared, said a student who filed a complaint against Bernsen.
Bernsen, who is on a paid leave of absence stemming from the investigation, has been circulating a statement saying that the charges of sexual assault and indecent exposure have been dropped and that he wanted people to know the charges had been dismissed.
While the charges of sexual assault and indecent exposure have been dismissed because of a lack of evidence, charges like sexual harassment and sexual discrimination are still being investigated, said the 19-year-old woman who filed a complaint against Bernsen with the Dean of Students Office in November.
The Arizona Daily Wildcat is not identifying her because of the nature of the complaints.
The Dean of Students Office couldn’t comment on the status of any of the charges because of federal privacy laws, said Veda Kowalski, associate dean of students.
Bernsen did not return phone calls to the Wildcat yesterday.
David Bernsen, Cade’s father, also confirmed that the charges of sexual assault and indecent exposure have been dismissed, and that the additional charges are still under investigation.
The woman said the two charges of sexual assault and indecent exposure were dismissed because of a lack of evidence. She didn’t know the status of the investigation into other charges, only that it was ongoing.
“”The dean of students hasn’t ruled or dismissed on all the cases yet,”” she said.
Bernsen said last week that the Dean of Students Office didn’t provide him with any documentation to verify the charges had been dismissed and that he was only given verbal confirmation.
But in an interview last week, Kowalski said that once any Dean of Students Office investigation is complete, all parties are told of the outcome and given documentation.
Also, any student who is involved in an investigation can give consent for the records to be made public, Kowalski said. This release would include verbal conversations between students and officials, she said.
Last week, the Wildcat asked Bernsen and his attorney to provide official documents showing that the charges had been dismissed or to release information.
Angered by his statement, the woman said Bernsen is twisting the facts to imply the entire investigation has been completed and that he has been cleared on all charges. “”They are nothing more than lies,”” she said. “”He’s not completely cleared.””
As of Friday, Bernsen remained on a paid leave of absence from his position as Associated Students of the University of Arizona president. It wasn’t clear if or when Bernsen would return.
