John Woods becomes OU lobbyist after video allegation of sexual assault and masturbation

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John Woods became Executive Director of Government Affairs at the University of Oklahoma in December 2018. His employment ended on Friday, August 20, 2021, after an investigation into an allegation of sexual assault. (Non Doc) Support journalism

Earlier this month, a former executive assistant in the Oklahoma State Senate sought and received an emergency protection order against John Woods, then executive director of government affairs at the University of Oklahoma. , after alleging that he sexually assaulted her in a parking lot, then sent her a video of masturbating.

Woods’ employment at OU ended today, hours after a story by Barbara Hoberock of Tulsa World exposed the allegation, according to Mackenzie Dilbeck, OU’s vice president of marketing and communications.

“I cannot comment on the existence or non-existence of a Title IX investigation, but I can confirm that we immediately began an administrative investigation after learning of the allegations (August 6),” Dilbeck said. at NonDoc today. “We learned of these allegations which we take very seriously, so we immediately began an internal investigation of our employee.”

Anissa Scott listed Woods as a “friend / mentor” on her protection order application, which was filed in Cleveland County District Court on August 6. The case is publicly listed on the State Courts Network website. As a result, NonDoc chose to report her name and discussed the decision with her prior to this article’s publication. (Scott’s first name is misspelled on OSCN.)

“John Woods sexually assaulted me in a parking lot,” Scott wrote in his request for a protective order. “Immediately after the assault, Mr. Woods sent me a video of himself restraining (sic). He then continued to virtually attack me by adding me to a group chat and introduced me as someone “who likes brutality and wanted to join the group”.

The alleged incident occurred on July 27, three days before the OU’s Board of Regents meeting to formalize his planned move to the Southeastern Conference. Woods attended the meeting and spoke casually with a state official in the audience, discussing an upcoming legislative dinner hosted by OU President Joe Harroz at Boyd House in Norman.

Scott now works for the University Hospital Authorities Trust, a public trust that supports the University of Oklahoma hospital system. UHAT “is completely separate and separate from the University of Oklahoma,” Dilbeck said.

Dilbeck said the OU’s Woods investigation “is over.” When asked if the OU’s investigation revealed any further allegations against Woods, Dilbeck replied, “I can’t comment on this.”

She sent clarification on this issue.

“As to whether our investigation revealed any additional charges, I will say that during the preliminary stages of our investigation, we became aware of the related potential criminal investigation and, in accordance with protocol, deferred our investigation to law enforcement. , cooperating where appropriate, “Dilbeck wrote.

Woods, 46, did not respond to a call from NonDoc before this article was published, but his attorney, Steve Stice, commented on Hoberock of the Tulsa World.

“We will vigorously defend ourselves against these allegations,” Stice said.

“I am concerned for my safety” A request for a protective order was filed against John Woods on Friday August 6, 2021 in Cleveland County District Court. (Screenshot)

Joined Friday morning, Scott deferred his comments to his lawyer, Liz George.

“Because this is an ongoing matter, I am not in a position to comment further at this time,” said George.

A member of the Oklahoma City YWCA board of directors, George spoke to NonDoc on Friday during a break from a YWCA board meeting. She said sexual misconduct is serious business.

“Anyone facing domestic violence or sexual assault of any kind should speak up and contact the YWCA hotline,” said George.

Cleveland County District Judge Nathaniel Hales has granted Scott an emergency protection order against Woods, pending a September 2 hearing for a final protection order.

In his request for a protective order, Scott wrote that on July 28, the day after the meeting in the parking lot, Woods “continued to text me while I was at work.”

“I asked Mr. Woods never to contact me again. He did not respect my wishes and sent me another text, ”she wrote.

Scott wrote that on August 4, Woods’ wife “called me from her phone, leaving me a voicemail at 11:34 PM”.

“She then called two more times from her phone. I answered his call. She demanded all the details of the assault, ”the woman wrote. “Although it was traumatic, I gave him the information and asked him to get additional information from the police, while I was filing a statement. I am worried about my safety. Mr. Woods continues to harras (sic) me through his wife. I have also met with his employer’s lawyers on this matter and am concerned about retaliation.

Former director of the Norman Chamber of Commerce and the Oklahoma Tobaccos Settlement Endowment Trust (TSET), Woods was hired at OU in December 2018 following the dismissal of former Senator Jonathan Nichols by then President, Jim Gallogly.

Woods served as District Director for U.S. Representative Tom Cole (R-OK4) in the early 2000s before working for the Oklahoma House of Representatives.

Requests for incident reports or comment from the Norman Police Department were not answered until the publication of this article.

John Woods the last to be investigated by OU

In recent years, the University of Oklahoma has suffered a series of allegations of sexual misconduct and investigations of prominent male employees.

The university is currently involved in litigation with NonDoc over a report investigating allegations of sexual misconduct against former OU president David Boren, who has resigned as professor emeritus in a bid to conclude the University’s Title IX survey. A longtime Boren confidant and former OU vice president Tripp Hall has been investigated by state law enforcement over an allegation of rape. A special appointed prosecutor decided not to press charges against Boren or Hall to the grand jury of several counties in the state. Both men denied any wrongdoing.

OU School of Drama professors John Scamehorn and Tom Orr also faced serious allegations of sexual misconduct in 2018, with Scamehorn severing ties with the university. More than two years after allegations against him surfaced, Orr was still on internal administrative leave in January, according to OU officials.

John Schwandt, the former director of the OUs American Organ Institute, left the university in 2019 after reporting that at least six students and at least three faculty and staff had filed Title IX complaints against him.

In 2020, the university made significant changes to its Title IX office and survey protocols.

(Update: This article was updated at 2:45 p.m. on Friday, August 20 to clarify the timeline of events discussed.)

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