UWM Student Association VP steps down

MILWAUKEE -- Brent Johnson is now the former vice president of UW-Milwaukee's Student Association. Johnson stepped down ten minutes before the most recent Student Senate meeting, to allow the Student Association to move forward. Johnson is the focus of an ongoing University investigation relating to sexual assault allegations, and he recently spent a night in jail after being late to a court-ordered interview. Johnson maintains his innocence, despite his resignation, and spoke to FOX6 about the allegations against him.

"The Student Association is near and dear to me, and they're pursuing a lot of initiatives. I saw that by continuing with the organization at this time, I wouldn't be able to do work during the investigation," Johnson said.

According to the police incident report obtained by the student newspaper, the UWM Post, about a week ago, Johnson was accused of sexually assaulting another student on multiple occasions. The alleged victim claims Johnson had made inappropriate remarks and physical contact over a few months. Many of the allegations center around a Student Association trip and its office. The Student Association president, and another officer have also been placed on administrative leave as a result of this ongoing investigation.

Johnson says he was never made aware of any of these claims, and the claims remain a shock to him. "I do believe I will be exonerated in the near future, and hopefully things can get back to normal when that happens," Johnson said.

Daniel Laughland, UWM Student Association's director of communications says he hopes Johnson's resignation will take away some of the negative light from the positive work the Association is trying to do.