U professor charged with sexual assault
Published 10:15 am Wednesday, February 22, 2017
MINNEAPOLIS — A University of Minnesota law professor is charged with sexually assaulting and stalking a woman.
Fifty-four-year-old Francesco Parisi of Minneapolis was charged Tuesday with first-degree criminal sexual conduct and stalking. He is in jail and due in court Wednesday.
According to the complaint, the woman told police in late January that a man she dated for several months in 2014 and early 2015 was stalking her and tried to run her over with his SUV.
The complaint says in January 2015, the man allegedly grabbed the woman and slammed her to the floor. She had a seizure and when she awoke, she says the man was sexually assaulting her.
Parisi’s attorney, Barry Edwards, calls the charges baseless.
The Star Tribune reports Parisi has taught law at the university since 2006.