Defense attorney slams Yale on student’s removal

NEW HAVEN — Suspended Yale University student Saifullah Khan did not get his scheduled day in court Friday, but his attorney continued to criticize Yale officials over their Oct. 7 decision to again bar him from campus.

The hearing in Superior Court in New Haven on whether Yale should be able to keep Khan out of classes has been rescheduled to Jan. 8.

“We don’t think Yale had credible grounds to remove him,” defense attorney Norm Pattis said Friday.

Yale spokesman Tom Conroy said the university had no comment.

Khan, 25, a Yale senior, became a controversial figure when another student alleged he had sexually assaulted her in her dormitory in the early-morning hours of Nov. 1, 2015, after an offcampus Halloween party and concert at Woolsey Hall.

The case finally came to trial last March. After both Khan and his accuser testified at length, a New Haven jury found him not guilty of sexual assault in the first, second, third and fourth degrees.

Khan then was allowed to resume taking courses this fall because the UniversityWide Committee on Sexual Misconduct has not ruled on whether he is guilty or not guilty of such misconduct.

Khan’s situation became more tangled after the Yale Daily News published a long, front-page story Oct. 5, reporting new sexual assault allegations against Khan by a young man who is not a Yale student.

The news story said Jon Andrews in recent months had developed with Khan “an emotional bond that evolved into a romantic relationship.”

Andrews told the student newspaper that Khan sexually assaulted him and a woman in a three-way sexual encounter in Washington, D.C., last June. Andrews also alleged Khan physically attacked him on two other occasions, striking him across the face and suffocating him. But Pattis has noted no criminal charges have been filed in any of these alleged attacks.

However, after the Yale Daily News story was published, the newspaper ran a follow-up article reporting they had interviewed students about Khan. Because of the new allegations, the report noted, “Khan’s presence on campus made many members of the Yale community feel uncomfortable.”

Another attorney for Khan, Margaret Valois, told the student newspaper that Khan has had no sexual contact with Andrews. She called the allegations “ridiculous” and “false and defamatory.”

When Yale College Dean Marvin M. Chun suspended Khan in October, he wrote to Khan that it was an “emergency suspension.” Chun explained: “An emergency suspension may be imposed when it appears necessary for your physical and emotional safety and well-being and/or the safety and wellbeing of the university community.”

The latest written allegation came Wednesday of this week when university lawyers filed a Superior Court memorandum defending Yale’s decision to suspend Khan.

The lawyers stated Khan would not be able to make up the work he has missed in his courses. They wrote he was “seriously delin- quent” on course assignments and had a poor attendance record in them.

The memorandum also alleged Khan, on Oct. 5, told Deputy Secretary and Senior Director of Corporation Affairs Martha Schall that he had attempted suicide in the past and was again having thoughts about suicide. Khan allegedly told Schall that Yale’s legal moves involving him had made him “belligerent.” Schall reportedly viewed this as a “veiled threat” and so she asked Yale police to protect her office.

When reached for comment Friday, Pattis said the court hearing also has been delayed because both sides have agreed Khan should undergo a psychiatric examination by an independent examiner.

Pattis added: “Is he under stress? Yes, because he’s been ostracized on campus. He’s been treated as though he were a criminal. When he walks across campus, people say: ‘There goes the rapist.’ ”

“But is he suicidal?” Pattis continued. “Not at all. He was distressed but had not contemplated killing himself. He may have just uttered words to that effect.”

Pattis added, “Yale thought Sai was a threat based on that ridiculous report (in the Yale Daily News) about a threesome in a hotel room.”

Asked about the Yale memorandum concerning the alleged “veiled threat” toward Schall, Pattis said, “Yale has had a month to go fishing for everything it can.” He said he doubts the report is true.

Pattis said, “I remain hopeful he can resume his studies. He wants that Yale degree and he’s instructed me to fight for it. And I will.”