UWM Student Association VP investigated for sexual assault

UW-Milwaukee junior Brent Johnson is vice president of the student association, and Sunday, Johnson was arrested and spent the night in jail. He's been accused of sexually assaulting a female student back in September, and has been placed on administrative leave from his VP position. from The district attorney decided not to charge Johnson, but the university says it takes allegations like this seriously and plan to investigate and hold a hearing to determine Johnson's future.

Johnson spoke with FOX6's Jenna Sachs on Wednesday and says he stands by his innocence, and doesn't know where these allegations came from. Johnson says he knows the woman accusing him. He wouldn't talk specifics about the allegations, but says he supports and is cooperating with the school's investigation, saying "I think the university and the student association needs to take matters like this with the utmost seriousness. The university is going to launch a full investigation, as they should. Once they find that I did nothing wrong, things will hopefully return to the way things were, representing the students."

The student association says "we hate to think that one of our own would be involved in such an incident, but at this time, we have placed Brent on administrative leave." The university says if a student was found responsible for sexual assault, it could mean suspension or expulsion. "I think we all have a duty to maintain a safe environment on our campus," Michael Laliberte, Vice Chancellor of Student Affairs with UWM said.

The university says they're taking these allegations seriously because they want UWM to be an environment where victims feel comfortable coming forward. They say their investigation should take no longer than 48 to 72 hours.