Junior Jason Pimentel, found guilty of sexual battery in Prince Edward County District Court earlier this month, was reinstated to the Longwood men’s basketball team immediately prior to their Feb. 14 home game against Charleston Southern University. He had been previously under an “indefinite suspension,” announced on Nov. 6, the day after his arrest.
Pimentel’s appeal of the district court’s decision will be heard at the circuit court level on April 21, three days before classes end for the spring semester.
Pimentel has appeared in both games since his return to uniform. In the press release announcing his full reinstatement, Longwood head men’s basketball coach Jayson Gee said Pimentel’s then 25-game suspension for his role in the Nov. 2 incident was “appropriate.”
"Jason has gone through the university's disciplinary process and met his obligations under the student code of conduct, and he has now sat out three months of his junior season," said Gee. "All along, I have evaluated whether he has taken ownership of this matter, understood its seriousness, and learned from it.”
While Gee was the only representative directly attributed in the university’s press release on Feb. 14, Longwood Director of Athletics Troy Austin, in an interview with The Rotunda this Monday, said he reinstated Pimentel. “In assessing all the variables, this is the outcome I worked to and one that I thought he should be reinstated,” said Austin.
Representing the university, Longwood spokesman Matt McWilliams said, “The way that the system is set up at Longwood is that the decision is Troy’s, whether he chooses to consult with anyone else on campus is his choice.”
McWilliams continued, “There is a student disciplinary process at Longwood, and that process has been resolved in this case. Mr. Pimentel is enrolled at Longwood, and he is eligible to participate in athletic competition.”
Austin told The Rotunda he started to look into reinstatement “about two or three weeks ago,” before informing Pimentel last week. Austin said there was never a clear-cut timeline set to end the suspension. Pimentel was found guilty of sexual battery on Feb. 2, twelve days before being reinstated to the basketball team. “I started to look at it and think to myself what would be appropriate given the mistake made in the situation,” said Austin. “Once the matter was reviewed through the school, there was never a specific number of games (we looked at); we later came to the decision that 25 games would be appropriate.”
Pimentel rejoined the men’s basketball roster with five regular season conference games remaining before the Big South Conference tournament, which begins on March 3. The winner of the tournament receives an automatic bid to the NCAA basketball tournament.
Longwood is currently in ninth place in the conference (8-20, 4-11 Big South), with the top seven teams receiving a first-round bye. Austin said Pimentel’s reinstatement was not connected to team performance, “The decision wasn’t made on whether he can help us win or not.”
After news broke of Pimentel’s reinstatement, the Longwood community responded both in support and in criticism of the decision. Multiple comments on The Rotunda’s social media platforms connected the recent decision to reinstate Pimentel to the start of the academic year when the university advocated for increased campus-wide awareness on sexual misconduct and other wellness-related factors that negatively impact academic performance. This included requiring all students to complete online prevention training through the ‘MyStudentBody.com’ portal. In addition, university faculty and staff members were required to attend Title IX-related training.
In an article discussing Title IX reports at the university last November, Jen Fraley, director of student conduct and integrity, stated a specific hearing board was created for these cases to ensure they received the required attention, “It is about us being proactive in saying, ‘This is not acceptable at Longwood.’”
According to page 44 of the university’s 2014-2015 student handbook, the sexual misconduct policy recognizes “any non-consensual contact of a sexual nature may constitute sexual misconduct.” The policy states, “The University will conduct investigations to the best of their ability that may lead to appropriate criminal, personnel, and Student Conduct actions.” The Code of Conduct Standards and Regulations, found on page 15 of the handbook, states students found responsible of sexual misconduct should receive “a minimum sanction of Expulsion or Disciplinary Suspension.” The results of these investigations and the decisions of the Conduct Board, the University Hearing Board and/or the University Appeals Board are confidential.
“Every incident is thoroughly evaluated, and there is no exception to this one. There are decisions made based on evidence and I think that is also fair. We have to evaluate these very carefully and you have to stand by that,” said Vice President of Student affairs, Dr. Tim Pierson.
Pimentel was found guilty of Virginia’s Class 1 misdemeanor of sexual battery, 18.2-67.4, which utilizes Code 18.2-67.10 to define sexual abuse. According to virginia law, sexual abuse may be defined as, “The accused intentionally touches the complaining witness's intimate parts or material directly covering such intimate parts.” In an article published on Nov. 6 by The Rotunda, Longwood Chief of Police Robert Beach discussed their investigation of the incident, “The victim said that in the early morning hours of Nov. 2, she was ‘forcibly fondled’ by an individual who was later determined to be Jason Pimentel.”
Virginia Code 18.2-11 states a conviction for a Class 1 misdemeanor, such as sexual battery, is punishable by “confinement in jail for not more than twelve months and a fine of not more than $2,500, either or both.”
With the conclusion of the university’s internal disciplinary process, Austin said no matter the outcome of Pimentel’s circuit court appeal, the athletic department’s verdict concerning his reinstatement will stand. “I don’t reflect on whether someone is going to disagree with me. I think about whether I’m doing something right or wrong in respect to Longwood.”
Pimentel and the Lancers men’s basketball team will finish the regular season with three home games starting this Saturday, Feb. 21 in Farmville.
