Judge questions Fenves reversing sex assault case

A federal judge questioned a decision by University of Texas President Gregory L. Fenves to overturn a hearing officer’s ruling and punish a male student accused of assault for having sex with a drunk female student after a sorority formal in 2016.

Judge Sam Sparks declined to rule on a motion for temporary injunction Friday in U.S. Western District Court, meaning the student’s five-semester suspension will continue through the fall. The student had hoped the judge would block Fenves’ decision as classes begin on Aug. 30.

But Sparks did suggest Fenves overreached in April by setting » aside the hearing officer’s ruling that the student didn’t commit sexual assault, and removing the student from campus.

“It would appear the hearing is just a facade if the president makes the decision,” Sparks said.

Fenves didn’t appear in court Friday, just days after the student’s attorney filed a lawsuit that says the president should never have entered into the case.

The lawsuit details a drunken night in April 2016 when the man and the woman left a sorority formal and went back to his place.