By Ellen Cans
The John Jay College of Criminal Justice has another scandal brewing.
A lawsuit brought by a grad student alleges that a prominent professor at the college made “incessant unwanted sexual advances”. As reported by the NY Post, Judith Sandrine Dikambi claims in court papers that Associate Professor Carlton Jama Adams subjected her to “a barrage of unrelenting and daily xenophobic, sexist and vulgar remarks about her African heritage.” Dikambi, 48, was a John Jay staffer working with international students while also seeking a master’s degree. She spent time with Adams when he assisted her with her thesis. Adams, 68, is the former chair of the Africana Studies department at John Jay. Court papers say that in 2014, during a thesis-writing session in his home, “Adams subjected Ms. Dikambi to unwanted oral sexual contact,” Dikambi claims in her suit. Allegedly, he once asked her, “How much will it take for me to sleep with you?” the suit alleges. The papers also say that he once groped her.
“Throughout her professional relationship with Dr. Adams from 2006 through 2014, Ms. Dikambi endured additional incessant unwanted sexual advances by him,” the court papers say. Dikambi complained about discrimination when working in Adams’ department, and she was consequently demoted to a different department. DiKambi filed the suit in 2019 in Manhattan federal court after an internal school probe substantiated some of her complaints. Federal Judge Ronnie Abrams ruled last month that Dikambi “plausibly alleged a hostile work environment against CUNY”, allowing the suit to move forward. Some of her other claims including for discrimination and retaliation were dismissed.
John Jay College, located on 59th St between 10th and 11th Avenue in Manhattan, is part of the City University of New York and funded by taxpayer dollars. In 2019, another federal suit had rocked the school, when four professors were accused of creating “a cesspool of sexism, misogyny, sexual harassment and illegal drug use.” That suit was settled earlier this year, with CUNY paying $164,499 to each of two former students, as well as $281,000 in legal fees. Three of the accused professors were placed on paid leave in 2018, with terminations proceedings pending, as per John Jay president Karol Mason. The forth accused professor was not rehired.
“John Jay is committed to fostering an environment where every member of the John Jay community is able to learn and work free from any type of harassment or discrimination. There is absolutely no place for sexual harassment or misconduct at John Jay,” said a spokesman for th
