HARTFORD, Conn. ― A former dean of fine arts at the University of Connecticut said Tuesday that school attorneys told him he could not pursue the firing of a music professor who had been accused of sexual misconduct with children.
David Woods denied the conclusions of independent report issued in February that asserted he didn’t do enough after learning of child sexual abuse allegations against Professor Robert Miller.
“I really want my reputation cleared and an apology from the university,” he told The Associated Press in an interview. He also has sent a point-by-point rebuttal of the allegations against him to members of the school’s Board of Trustees.
The report from Scott Coffina, a former White House counsel and former assistant federal prosecutor, singled out Woods among officials who were aware for more than a decade that Miller had been accused of misconduct with several children, allegations that dated back to the 1960s.
Woods said he followed every school protocol and brought emails and all other evidence he received detailing those allegations to his superiors, including the school’s president, in 2001, 2003, 2007 and in 2008.
“I always reported it,” Woods said. “I was told we didn’t have enough information against him to separate him from the university.”
