The lawyer for Hakop Kaplanyan, the UCLA men’s water polo player accused of rape by another student early last month, said in a statement that the university has upheld his client’s interim suspension.
UCLA spokesman Phil Hampton declined to confirm whether the university upheld the suspension.
“Given the confidentiality that governs UCLA’s student conduct process, the university will not discuss specific cases in order to protect our students’ privacy,” a statement from the university reads.
The Los Angeles District Attorney did not file charges against Kaplanyan at his arraignment last week. The case is currently “under review,” a District Attorney spokeswoman said.
UCLA has put Kaplanyan on interim suspension, which takes place while investigation of an alleged misconduct is ongoing.
Kaplanyan was suspended in early April, shortly after he was arrested on suspicion of raping a female student in a UCLA residential hall. He was later released on $200,000 bail.
Last week, Kaplanyan appealed his suspension during a meeting with Robert Naples, associate vice chancellor and dean of students, according to a statement from his lawyer, Berc Agopoglu, posted on Facebook.
Agopoglu, who could not be reached for comment but regularly posts updates on Facebook regarding the case, said UCLA did not follow the proper procedure when dealing with Kaplanyan’s case.
Agopoglu said UCLA did not present a report when suspending Kaplanyan, and only produced a letter.
The section of UCLA’s Student Conduct Code about interim suspension states that the Office of the Dean of Students will notify a student of the charges against him or her upon the imposition of suspension.
Hampton declined to comment on whether a report was needed in the case of an interim suspension.
In a statement, the university said it is “confident that procedures outlined in the Student Conduct Code are being followed.”
Compiled by Erin Donnelly and Naheed Rajwani, Bruin senior staff, and Samuel Hoff, Bruin contributor.