Attorneys appeal expulsion recommendation against Alec Cook

MADISON, Wis. — Attorneys for a man accused of numerous instances of sexual assault are appealing a decision made by a University of Wisconsin-Madison committee to recommend his expulsion from the university.

In a statement Friday afternoon, attorneys Chris Van Wagner and Jessa Nicholson said Alec Cook is appealing the committee’s decision earlier this month to recommend expulsion for violating student conduct policies .

The attorneys said the university failed to provide Cook a fair and impartial hearing by not ensuring that the committee members were “free from the influences of the many erroneous media reports about the allegations against him, or from the numerous, continuing university ‘alerts’ and ‘notifications’ about Alec.”

In the statement, Van Wagner and Nicholson said Cook is asking Chancellor Rebecca Blank to reject the recommendation and order a new hearing in which Cook is able to ask about the possible biases of committee members.

Cook faces a total of 21 charges including strangulation, sexual assault, stalking and false imprisonment involving 10 women dating back to March 2015. Cook pleaded not guilty to the charges in February .

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