SAN DIEGO (AP) — San Diego State University will pay $10,000 to settle a lawsuit by a foreign exchange student who said he was wrongly suspended and accused of sexual assault.
The San Diego Union-Tribune reported the settlement on Friday.
Campus police arrested Francisco Sousa in December 2014 for an alleged assault near campus. A campus-wide email announced the arrest.
The 20-year-old says the news flashed around the world, even to his hometown of Porto, Portugal.
Charges were dropped the next month but the school didn’t lift his suspension for eight months.
Sousa — who never returned to the school — says he sued to clear his name. Under the settlement, his arrest will be changed to a detention and the school will provide additional training to employees who investigate sexual assault claims.
[Francisco Sousa in 2015 via DailyAztecVideo]