Schools

UGA Officials to Decide if Accused Tranvestite Prostitute Can Remain on the Faculty

Max Roland Reinhart, a well-regarded Goethe scholar, was arrested Thursday night in Gwinnett County.

University of Georgia German professor Max Roland Reinhart, accused of soliciting business as a transvestite prostitute, will learn in the next few days if he will be teaching at the state's flagship university this coming semester, officials said Monday.

Reinhart, 65, was arrested June 7 by Gwinnett County Police, who had agreed to meet "Sasha" in a Norcross area motel and pay $60 for a sex act. Sasha turned out to be Reinhart in drag, Gwinnett County Police charge.

and with keeping a place of prostitution--in this case, the motel room. The police initially found him through an ad placed in an online publication.

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According to Tom Jackson, UGA Vice President for Public Affairs, Reinhart told university officials about his arrest Friday afternoon, meeting the tenets of the University's policy. It says that anyone accused of committing a crime must share that information within 72 hours of charges being filed.

Reinhart's case was then assigned to an officer in the UGA Office of Legal Affairs. That person will use police incident reports and an interview with Reinhart himself to determine whether to recommend dismissing him. Jackson said the ruling shouldn't take long once all the necessary information is obtained.

Find out what's happening in Athenswith free, real-time updates from Patch.

During the 24 years that Jackson has been associated with UGA, he said, he has never heard of a case like Reinhart's. "It's unusual," he said.

The decision of whether to dismiss Reinhart will fall to , the new dean of the Franklin College of Arts and Sciences. If Legal Affairs recommends dismissing Reinhart, then a faculty committee will have to decide whether to revoke his tenure, which he has held since 1994.

University officials said that whether he is or isn't dismissed, Reinhart would be alllowed to keep his retirement money, because he's not on the Teachers' Retirement System.


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