Deaf ASL professor at Liberty University charged with sexual battery and abduction
Local news in the Virginia area reported that a deaf ASL professor at Liberty University, William Atwell, was charged with sexual battery and abduction of a student.
Liberty University is a private Christian university in Lynchburg, Virginia.
The Washington Post reported that Atwell is accused of sexual assault on September 15 and of an abduction on November 19.
ABC 13 News said a police report said a female student accused Atwell of hugging and touching her inappropriately on her butt and breast in his office on November 19, which was on a Friday. Atwell was arrested the next day on Saturday, November 20 on the two charges. Other students in the class said they were unaware of Atwell’s arrest for a few days. Atwell posted a $3,000 bond last Monday and was released from jail. He will have to appear in court on January 25.
The university said Atwell has been suspended. The university said they have zero tolerance of faculty members having inappropriate sexual contact with their students. The university didn’t provide any information about the incident other than saying they helped the alleged victim to go to law enforcement and that it resulted in Atwell’s arrest.
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NBC News said Atwell did not respond to a request for comment on Thursday. Liberty University is already facing multiple lawsuits involving sexual misconduct claims and allegations that the university created an environment that increases the likelihood of sexual assault and rape.
According to Atwell’s curriculum vitae on Liberty’s website, he graduated from Lamar University in Texas in 2013 with a Doctorate of Education in Deaf Studies and Deaf Education and was a deaf pastor of the First Baptist Church in Beaumont, Texas where he led the congregation in worship and bible studies and provided counseling from 2002 to 2013. He started working at Liberty University in 2013.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/2021/12/03/liberty-professor-charged-assault/