A Washington University chemistry professor charged with assault is now suing the university, claiming "anti-male bias" led to a slanted investigation into his conduct, national shame and the loss of his teaching privileges.
Jonathan Barnes, in the lawsuit filed Tuesday, said he wrongfully was accused of sexually harassing several female students in 2024 and complained the university handled听the students' complaints in a biased manner.
The lawsuit is the latest chapter in a two-year saga on the allegations against Barnes, which began with an anonymous accusation听posted online. In October 2024, posts on Sidechat, a messaging app for college students, accused Barnes of misconduct. The following month,听an Instagram account called @metoo_WashU accused听Barnes of grooming and inappropriately touching female students.
Barnes sued the creator of the account in June 2025, after its posts led to news coverage in WashU's student newspaper and national higher education news site . The lawsuit is scheduled for a jury trial in November.
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Four months after Barnes filed the lawsuit, 最新杏吧原创 County prosecutors filed three fourth-degree misdemeanor assault charges against the professor after at least two of his former students spoke with police. The case still is pending and a hearing is scheduled for Sept. 15.
WashU police Officer Jeri Hokamp wrote in the charges听that Barnes squeezed and rubbed one student's shoulders and placed his hands on her lower back. Barnes, according to the complaint, also placed his hands on top of another student's hands and touched the back of her thighs.
In his latest lawsuit, Barnes characterized the touching as "ordinary academic interactions." He said his "supportive mentoring" ranged from compliments to "brief side hugs when students became distressed," but was not sexual.
The suit claims WashU imposed restrictions on Barnes' work before he could respond to the allegations and produced a one-sided investigative report. The report omitted seven of 13 witnesses who testified in Barnes' favor and kept the entirety of the students' accusations, the suit states.
Kedra Tolson, associate vice chancellor of communications for WashU, said the university does not comment on pending litigation.
Barnes' claims also involve听a flood in Bryan Hall, a building used by WashU's chemistry department. In July 2025, Barnes reported a water leak from a failed hose in a laboratory there, the suit states. Months later, university personnel accused him of causing the leak, despite Barnes' insistence he had nothing to do with it, the suit states.
In November 2025, Provost Mark West placed Barnes on administrative leave, citing the charges and the Bryan Hall flood.
Barnes has worked at WashU since 2016, and received tenure status in 2023. He remains employed by WashU, but is听barred from teaching. WashU also prohibited him from entering Chemistry Department spaces unless he was accompanied at all times and received prior written approval. He is banned from most other areas on campus.
Barnes' attorney, Kevin Dolley, did not return requests for comment.
