The University of Virginia law student who admitted to making up allegations of racial profiling by campus police was acquitted of university honor charges against him and has received his law degree, according to school officials.
Officials will let any state bar to which the newly minted graduate applies know of the “underlying circumstances,” according to an official statement.
Johnathan Perkins was weeks from graduation when the scandal broke. He had claimed in a letter to the editor of the law school’s newspaper that UVa police had mistreated him after stopping him in March.
A UVa news release later announced that he had admitted to inventing the alleged mistreatment to bring attention to the issue of police misconduct.
University officials declined to press criminal charges. Under the university’s honor code, lying, cheating and stealing are offenses carrying the sole punishment of permanent expulsion.
Perkins missed graduation because of pending honor charges, but was acquitted over the summer by a jury of fellow students, according to UVa School of Law Dean Paul Mahoney.
“The law school has separately informed Mr. Perkins that it will furnish a statement regarding the honor charges and underlying circumstances to any state bar to which he applies,” Mahoney said in a written statement released this week.
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