You have /5 articles left.
Sign up for a free account or log in.
A judge has ordered a professor accused of having sex with a graduate student, and of subsequently threatening to kill two colleagues who reported him, to pay more than $64,000 over a failed libel suit, EdSource reports.
David Stachura, of California State University, Chico, sued a colleague, Betsey Tamietti, after which the university defended her, the media outlet reported. In December, Tamietti, a lecturer in biology, said on a Zoom call with hundreds of students and employees that Stachura spoke to her about going “on a shooting spree” and warned her not to “become part of the problem.”
Stephen Benson, a California Superior Court judge, dismissed the suit in July and, last month, ordered Stachura to repay the university for more than $64,000 in legal costs it spent to defend Tamietti, EdSource reported.
Stachura didn’t respond to requests for comment Monday. Asked about Stachura’s employment status, a university spokesman wrote in an email that “Stachura is on administrative leave, which is paid. He has been on leave since December 2022. Because the review isn’t yet complete, it wouldn’t be appropriate to comment at this time.”
