Transgender student alleges sexual harassment

A transgender student complains in a lawsuit that a University of Central Oklahoma professor sexually harassed him during a meeting at the professor’s home.

Tyler Bors alleges professor Kole Kleeman made repeated statements about his physical appearance, forcibly tried to embrace him, and kissed him on the head.

Kleeman is listed on the UCO website as a professor of mass communication and director of the media studies minor. He did not return calls and emails seeking comment.

The Regional University System of Oklahoma was named as the defendant in a lawsuit filed Nov. 26 in Oklahoma County District Court. The lawsuit has since been moved to Oklahoma City federal court and was amended Thursday to add UCO as a defendant.

The RUSO Board of Regents governs six of the state’s universities, including UCO.

Reached Wednesday, UCO spokeswoman Adrienne Nobles said she can’t comment on “active legal matters or issues regarding personnel or student conduct.”

The lawsuit, filed under the name Victoria “Tyler” Bors, states that on or around Aug. 31, 2017, Kleeman contacted Bors, “allegedly seeking advice on pronoun use regarding sex and gender relative to LGBT+ persons.”

Bors agreed to meet to discuss the topic and Kleeman set the meeting at his home, according to the lawsuit. That’s when Kleeman allegedly harassed Bors, remarking that the plaintiff’s gender transition made him “horny,” the lawsuit stated.

Bors rejected the professor’s alleged advances and “fled the location,” the lawsuit stated.

Bors alleges “deliberate indifference” to his concerns on the part of UCO following an investigation by the university that found “in favor” of the plaintiff, according to the lawsuit.

“The threat of continued harassment/assault remains,” the lawsuit stated.

Bors has been denied educational and enrichment opportunities “due to their proximity to the harasser,” and is seeking damages, the lawsuit stated.