A Fresno City College instructor had committed an act of sexual violence against a professor when he was a graduate student at Fresno State, according to an internal investigation.
This comes in the wake of the the California State University audit from earlier this year that found Fresno State to be severely lacking in prevention and education for sexual harassment.
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The big picture: According to a report by EdSource, Fresno City College communication instructor Tom Boroujeni committed sexual violence in 2015. That was determined by a 2020 investigation that Fresno State had opened based on Title IX.
- Boroujeni was a graduate student and part-time instructor at Fresno State in 2015, as well as a part-time instructor at Fresno City College.
- The alleged victim, who also teaches part-time at Fresno City College, reached a $53,000 settlement with Fresno State in February after she claimed the university did not do enough to protect her. She requested a no-contact order from Fresno City College in 2021 as a result of the Fresno State investigation.
- Boroujeni, who also serves as the president of the academic senate at Fresno City College, was given tenure by the school this year.
- There were no criminal complaints filed against Boroujeni despite the allegations.
Go deeper: Boroujeni maintained his innocence in Fresno State’s investigation and in an interview with EdSource.
- He said he had consensual sex with the Fresno State professor in June 2015 shortly after they started dating. Both of them were married to other people at the time.
- The Fresno State investigation found that when Boroujeni asked the alleged victim if they could have sex, she responded “no.” The university report states that he “pinned down (her) upper region” and she “zoned out.”
- While Boroujeni appealed the university report to the CSU Chancellor’s Office in June 2021, it was denied just one month later.
- In May 2022 Boroujeni resigned from Fresno State and agreed to never apply for or accept employment on any CSU campus.
More complaints: According to EdSource, Boroujeni faces three more complaints over his interactions with three women at Fresno City College.
- One of the complaints was filed by Cyndie Luna, the Dean of the Fine, Performing and Communication Arts Division.
- She accused Boroujeni of using a racial slur when referring to a colleague and said in a “menacing and threatening” tone that he “will get” the colleague for gossiping about him.
