A Fort Valley State University officer was arrested by the GBI Friday for simple battery, bribery, and 2 counts of violation of oath of office.
Officer Wilbur Bryant used to work at Fort Valley University, but in April, a young woman told the administration he was assaulting her, and he later quit.
One FVSU group is trying to change the way young men obtain consent and one of the group's leaders says in turn, he thinks women are changing the way they expect to be treated.
Joesph Cornick is the peer leader for Shepherds in the Valley, a group of men at Fort Valley State University trying to change the dialogue on sexual assault. The group has been on campus for 4 years and has more than 100 members. Cornick says they’re trying to change the way men view consent.
“We can stop half of the situation. We can educate the male side on how you don’t be the aggressor. This is how you don’t violate people and in the process, we are protecting our female counterparts,” said Cornick.
In April, 52-year-old Officer Bryant was accused of assaulting a freshman athlete.
“Had he been through the Shepherds' training, he would have learned not to do that,” said Cornick.
Spokesperson for the school, Cedric Moseby, said when the school was made aware, they placed the officer on administrative leave.
“Universities in the country are taking a hard look at how they protect their students that haven’t necessarily been delved into before,” said Moseby.
The young woman’s lawyer, Teresa Diponzio, says that wasn’t enough. She says “prior to the incident Fort Valley received multiple complaints regarding officer Bryant’s predacious conduct but did little to protect the vulnerable students.”
And in terms of the case, Diponzio also says, “The victim and her family want to bring awareness to the epidemic of sexual assaults.”
Joseph says not only are they trying to prevent and intervene on campus, they’re also helping women find their voice if something happens to them.
“Saying, 'It’s up to you -- it’s your body, it’s what you’re going with it.' When you give somebody your approval, whether gay, straight, male, or female, I think it’s going to have an impact on them,” said Cornick.
Diponzio says the ongoing investigation has revealed additional victims, but Moseby says he didn’t know of any, but they could be in his personnel files.
13WMAZ filed an open records request for Bryant’s personnel file.