Professor Howard Robinson, 69, is alleged to have been caught masturbating during a break on a Zoom lecture in September 2020
A New York university professor who lost his job after he was accused of masturbating on camera during a Zoom lecture is suing his former employer along with a student of his who claims her civil rights were violated after she viewed the alleged indecent act.
Professor, Howard Robinson, 69, has long denied any self-gratification took place during his class and claims that he was trying to send an email while dealing with an urgent need to use the toilet.
His student, Andrea Morin, who is also suing Fordham University, claims to have witnessed the indecent act and captured it on her cellphone.
Morin claims to have ended up failing the class as a result of witnessing the act adding that she was retaliated for making the complaint, thereby scuppering her scholarship and was ultimately dropped from the program. She claims her civil rights were violated.
Robinson, meanwhile, claims he is incapable of being aroused because he suffers from erectile dysfunction.
'No, I was not masturbating,' he told the Daily News. 'The thought of masturbating was the furthest thing from my mind. I was totally focused on teaching.'
Robinson who was a professor of social work, was fired within days by Fordham University by letter which stated, 'more likely than not you engaged in conduct in violation of the Fordham Sexual and Related Misconduct Policy.'
Robinson who also claims his civil rights were violated stressed that he has never been the subject of any grievances during the entirety of his teaching career.
'My record has been sterling. There has never been a student or faculty member make any complaint whatsoever,' he said.
Fordham social work student Andrea Morin captured the act on her cellphone and made a complaint. She ended up failing the class and is suing the school for $1 million in damages
Robinson maintains he was frantically attempting to attach a PowerPoint presentation to an email and what Morin saw as him masturbating was in fact a 'technologically challenged middle-aged
