NEW BRITAIN–A former professor has been arrested after allegations that he sexually assaulted a student.
Daniel Gula, 52, a former CCSU professor, was accused of assaulting a student of in the fall of 2014. He was arrested on Wednesday, September 2, and charged with sexual assault in the third degree, unlawful restraint in the first degree and disorderly conduct.
The student made the allegations to the school’s Women Center on September 23, 2014, who then reported it to the chief diversity officer and Title IX officer.
The school then interviewed the student, who started CCSU in the fall of 2014.
In the interview, the student said she met Daniel Gula, an adjunct professor in the English department, early in the semester. She soon chose him as a mentor, and the two exchanged emails.
The interview was outlined in an investigatory report from the school, which Fox CT obtained. In it, the student said that until September 15, the relationship was professional. However, on that day, she stopped by his office to talk, and things changed. She said that as she went to leave, Gula inappropriately touched her and exposed his genitals.
The suspect said she believed he was like that with other students, and it seemed like he had planned the interaction.
The school began an investigation, which was completed on October 22. In the instigation, it says the student initially did not want to name the professor or pursue charges, but she did want to have a class of hers moved to a different building because it was at the same time the professor was in that building. She also wanted to drop Gula’s English class.
Eventually, she dropped both of those classes and was issued a full refund.
Six days after her initial report of the incident, on September 29, the student named Gula as the perpetrator in a report to CCSU police. She still didn’t want to pursue charges, or participate in the investigation.
When the school investigator tried to interview Gula, he wouldn’t respond. Eventually, he provided a handwritten statement to police admitting to the allegations.
The investigation concluded Gula had violated the college’s sexual misconduct, sexual assault and intimate partner violence policy. He was asked to resign, and he did.
Gula was only arrested this week because the victim decided to pursue charges after learning he had resigned from the school instead of being fired, meaning he could potentially get another job with another university.
Gula’s lawyer released the following statement to Fox CT: “At this point, we are gathering information in terms of what specifically is being alleged to have occurred in order to resolve this matter.”
