Police in Washington, D.C., have closed their investigation into an allegation that suspended Yale student Saifullah Khan sexually assaulted two people, and authorities will not pursue charges against him, Khan’s attorney said Wednesday.
After receiving the news, Khan quickly wrote a letter to Yale College Dean Marvin Chun, asking him to lift the “emergency suspension” the university imposed against him when the allegations were published in the Yale Daily News.
There was no immediate response when the New Haven Register asked a university spokesman for comment.
But Norm Pattis, Khan’s attorney, said: “The Yale Daily News story about the so-called ‘assault’ in D.C. was ridiculous and defamatory. The D.C. police department sees that. Why can’t Yale? Mr. Khan should be re-admitted forthwith. He’s not a threat to anyone, and Yale knows it.”
In his letter to Pattis, Detective Darryl Richmond wrote: “The Metropolitan Police Department’s Sexual Assault Unit has closed its investigation of a sexual offense in which your client, Saifullah Khan was a suspect and Jonathan Andrews is the complainant. The said assault was reported to this unit on Aug. 29 and it was closed on Nov. 13.”
Pattis also provided to the New Haven Register a copy of Khan’s letter to Chun. Khan wrote: “As you might be aware, there are no charges against me in any jurisdiction and certainly Yale has no jurisdiction over claims outside the university premises. According to the rules stated in your own suspension letter, which I find fault with regardless, the matter has been resolved.”
Khan concluded the letter: “As such, I would request that you lift the emergency suspension immediately so that I can get back on track for school. Please do what America stands for and what Yale stands for. I believe in both.”
In his suspension letter, sent to Khan in October after the Yale Daily News reported the allegations, Chun wrote: “An emergency suspension may be imposed when it appears necessary for your physical and emotional safety and well-being and/or the safety and well-being of the university community.”
Chun told Khan he was being suspended “based on allegations that you engaged in violent behavior toward Jon Andrews and another person.”
After that suspension, Pattis filed a motion in Superior Court in New Haven seeking an order to permit Khan to return to classes. A hearing on the matter is scheduled for Jan. 8. Patttis has acknowledged too much time has elapsed for Khan to resume the courses he had begun in September. But Pattis is hoping the judge will reinstate Khan for the next semester, which begins in late January.
Khan, 25, a Yale senior, has been suspended twice. The first suspension happened after another Yale student alleged Khan had sexually assaulted her in her dormitory in the early-morning hours of Nov. 1, 2015, after an off-campus Halloween party and a concert at Yale’s Woolsey Hall. A New Haven Superior Court jury last March found him not guilty of sexual assault in the first, second, third and fourth degrees.
Khan was allowed to resume his studies in September because the University-Wide Committee on Sexual Misconduct had not ruled on whether he was guilty of such misconduct.
The Yale Daily News story of Oct. 5 reported new sexual assault allegations, this time by Andrews, who is not a Yale student. Andrews said he and Khan had entered into a “romantic relationship.”
Andrews alleged that Khan sexually assaulted him and a woman during a three-way sexual encounter in Washington, D.C., last June. Andrews also alleged that Khan attacked him two other times, hitting him across the face and suffocating him.
Khan and Pattis denied those allegations. Meanwhile, under an agreement by Yale representatives and Khan, he is undergoing a psychiatric examination by an independent expert. The exam was scheduled after a Yale official reported Khan told her he was contemplating suicide.
Pattis has said Khan is not suicidal but may have talked about taking his own life because he is under so much stress from being “ostracized” on campus.