Syracuse University issued a public statement on Tuesday addressing the conviction of former professor Douglas Wonders on child sexual abuse charges.

Wonders, 63, worked at the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications for 22 years before retiring in spring 2017. He was convicted in May of repeated sexual abuse of a 9-year-old girl. He was sentenced to 10 years of probation, according to New York state’s sex offender registry.

“This matter, which was recently brought to our attention, is deeply disturbing,” said Sarah Scalese, senior associate vice president for communications, in a statement to The Daily Orange. “We have no reason to believe any of our students were impacted.”

Scalese’s statement is the university’s first comment on Wonders’ conviction. The abuse was reported to law enforcement in August 2016, and the sex offender registry shows his mugshot was taken in March 2017. The charges against Wonders were not reported at the time of his retirement in May 2017.

Wonders’ conviction was first reported last week by Syracuse.com,when he was sentenced. He knew the victim, whose identity is undisclosed. Court records from cases involving the sexual abuse of minors are usually sealed and not open to the public.

Wonders lives in Geddes, a town west of Syracuse, according to the sex offender registry. He did not answer the door at the home address listed in the registry. Several neighbors on his street said they didn’t know Wonders. One neighbor, who declined to be named, said Wonders had lived there, but he hadn’t seen Wonders since last week, when his conviction was reported. 

During his time at Newhouse, Wonders taught classes, such as “Photography for Non-Majors,” and ran the photo studio. He also took faculty portraits and set up a film lab for students during Newhouse’s Fall Workshop.   

“Syracuse University condemns sexual misconduct, assault and harassment,” Scalese said. “We have clear policies and procedures in place to support the reporting, investigation and adjudication of allegations.”  

Scalese said the university encourages survivors of sexual assault to contact the Department of Public Safety, local law enforcement and the Title IX staff in SU’s Office of Equal Opportunity, Inclusion and Resolution Services.

Asst. News Editors Gabe Stern and India Miraglia contributed reporting to this article. 

Published on September 3, 2019 at 10:10 pm

Contact Casey: [email protected] | @caseydarnell_