DAVIS, Calif. — A UC Davis professor is on leave as he faces accusations of sexual assault dating back to 2010, the University of California, Davis said in a statement.
UC Davis said a report from the UC Santa Barbara Police Department detailed sexual assault allegations against UC Davis professor Ting Guo in 2018. According to the university, the report indicated that three sexual assaults had allegedly happened within city limits but not the campus, so the university police department notified Davis Police Department about the report.
According to the university, the report requested that the criminal investigation be finished before the complainant's name or Guo's name were released to the university's Title IX office. Since university police complied with the request and share limited information, it was not enough for the Title IX office to start an investigation, the university said.
More information would eventually come by way of a civil lawsuit related to the 2018 complaint. The university learned about the lawsuit in January 2021. The lawsuit alleged that Guo sexually assaulted a high school student working in his laboratory in 2010. According to the university, the complainant was never a UC Davis student.
Guo was placed on administrative leave. He has been on leave since that time and the university said he was told not contact the complainant or any UC Davis student or employee. He was also told not to come to campus without prior permission.
After the Title IX office learned the complainant's name, they started an investigation and also launched an independent investigation to figure out if university policy was violated.
Guo was appointed to the UC Davis faculty in 1999. Until 2019, Guo was also involved as a mentor with the Young Scholars Program, a summer program where high school students complete a project in a campus lab. The university said the complainant was not a participant in the Young Scholars Program.
Chancellor Gary May also called for an independent external review of all UC Davis programs involving youths. The review includes:
- "A comprehensive review of all activities that occurred in University facilities involving minors from 2010 to present. Determine what protections have been in place for minors participating in these programs and whether there are areas for improvement.
- Review whether there are sufficient protocols in place governing communication and information sharing between the UC Davis Police Department and the UC Davis Title IX Office.
- Whether anyone in a leadership position in the chemistry department knew or should have known about sexual misconduct concerns related to Ting Guo between 2010 and 2021 and whether those concerns were appropriately reported. If so, whether appropriate action was taken to respond to concerns."
The review will be done by Eve Peek Fichtner, partner with law firm Atkinson, Andelson, Loya, Ruud & Romo.
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