Report on Rep. Manweller describes inappropriate behavior with students

Washington State Representative and former Central Washington University professor Matt Manweller has pointed to a video as proof that allegations of inappropriate behavior at the university are untrue.

In the video, he can be seen sitting at a committee meeting as he was handed some paperwork. He looks behind him as a woman hands him some binders, then continues with the meeting.

RELATED: Manweller fired from Central Washington University

According to Manweller, this simple interaction is indicative of the allegations against him — simple, innocent moments that don’t add up to harassment. About 20 seconds after that quick interaction, however, Manweller can be seen leaning back briefly, appearing to look the woman up and down as she walks away.

There is a difference between Manweller’s account of events and that of the women interviewed for the CWU investigation. He argues they are innocent communications. They say they felt uncomfortable. That difference is echoed throughout the report on the investigation featuring 15 different women — mostly students — reporting a range of incidents from unwelcome comments and physical touch, to implied sexual quid pro quo. The report alleges a pattern of behavior from the professor and reads:

The preponderance of the evidence supported a finding that Manweller engages in treatment of female students and former students that was inappropriate, unprofessional, and had gender-based and/or sexual overtones.

The report also puts forth this question: “What are the chances that a blameless person would be repeatedly accused of such similar, inappropriate conduct?”

CWU fired Manweller this month, following the report. He is also a Republican state representative for Washington’s 13th District, which covers Lincoln, Grant, and Kittitas Counties, including the City of Ellensburg. Manweller is currently running for re-election. His campaign website now mostly features responses and a counter narrative to the CWU investigation. He is also suing the university for wrongful termination.

Allegations against Manweller

Much of the allegations against the lawmaker from 15 women are reports of leering and “body scanning,” similar to what appears on the committee meeting video. The word “creepy” is commonly used across most accounts, whether they be from Manweller’s babysitter, his students, or the witnesses interviewed to corroborate allegations. Most accounts add up to students and others feeling uncomfortable around the man. But some allege more aggressive and inappropriate behavior for a college professor.

Women report that he sat down with them or walked with them, unwelcome. Also, he hugged and touched their bodies (elbows, knees, lower backs) in an uncomfortable, unwelcome manner. Many report that he commented on their appearance, saying they were sexy, hot, or a 10. The students also report that Manweller was flirty and asked them details about their dating and sex lives. Some students report that Manweller would go drinking with them at bars, or ask them out to bars. One student describes “grooming behavior” she felt Manweller used to make her feel comfortable with him. Another said that he joked about spanking her.

Two women report separate incidents, years apart, that are strikingly similar. The two women allege:

• A 19-year-old female student in 2009 said she was struggling in Manweller’s class because her son was ill. She says the professor first asked her to a local bar to discuss her issue. She declined. Instead, they met in his office where he closed the door. She says he sat very close to her, and acted in a flirtatious manner. He put his hand on her knee and said, “There’s always a way for you to get an A in this class.” She received this as a proposition — sexual acts for a grade. The student withdrew from Manweller’s class after this interaction.
• In 2006, a female student reports that Manweller often leered at her and was flirty. The two met in his office to talk about individual study. She says Manweller sat very close to her and said the sexual energy between them was undeniable. The student says that Manweller talked about the knee-length skirt she wore in class. He said “let’s be adults about this” and “we can be discrete.” He referred to her boyfriend as a “boy.” The student reports that Manweller said she didn’t want to write a report, and that he didn’t want to read it. He then made a statement that the student understood to be a request for oral sex — Manweller told her that the two could go to a hotel and “discuss it orally.” He touched her knee with his hand. He then leaned in and kissed the student on her mouth. The student was uncomfortable. She and her boyfriend had asked Manweller for letters of recommendation to law school. The student reports that she did not submit a paper for the individual study, but Manweller gave her a grade for it anyway. The student also reports that Manweller appeared elsewhere in her life — he showed up at her work to talk to her, and two years after the office incident, he called her mother. The student does not know how Manweller knew where she worked or her mother’s phone number.

The investigation report states that Manweller refused to answer questions relating to the 2006 allegation. The report relied on Manweller’s account from 2012, when a previous investigation was launched into the incident. In that account, Manweller says he did not know the student, even though she took several classes with the professor over the years she attended CWU; he submitted a change of grade for her; he wrote a letter of recommendation for her; and he remembered details about her boyfriend.

Similar to Manweller’s recent arguments, he claimed in 2012 that he was being targeted by allegations because he was running for office.

On woman interviewed for the investigation was 17-years-old and in high school during the time she says Manweller engaged in inappropriate behavior. She was involved in the Running Start program in 2003-2005 (high school students taking college courses). She says Manweller knew she was in high school when he commented on her clothing and how it reminded him of Daisy Duke. He further commented that he had a big crush on Daisy Duke. Once in Manweller’s office, she says he asks about her evening plans, said his wife was out of town, and gave her his phone number. He said that if her friend was not able to go with her to a movie that night, he would “chaperone” her. She told the investigator that the situation made her feel “terrible.”

Another female student alleged that Manweller hit on her in his office, commenting on how attractive she was, asking about her dating life. In another encounter, Manweller asked her to a nice restaurant to discuss a project she was working on. This time, he reportedly said he could not stop thinking about her, that he was dreaming about her, that he wanted to run away with her, and that he knew it was wrong and that he could get in trouble. When she left, Manweller reportedly yelled after her, “Don’t go.” He grabbed her arm when she was getting into her car, she pushed him off because she felt he was trying to kiss her.

Of the 15 female students interviewed in the report:

• 2 reported that Manweller offered them an educational benefit in exchange for sex
• 9 women reported unwelcome or inappropriate attention
• 9 reported he looked at their bodies
• 6 reported physical touching
• 6 reported communications with Manweller that had sexual or romantic overtones
• 7 reported getting compliments based on physical characterstics
• 5 reported being asked inappropriate personal questions
• 3 reported Manweller attempted to communicate with them following unambiguous  indications of unwelcomeness
• 7 reported he acted inappropriately in his office
• 4 reported he set up situations that made it difficult to end the encounter
• 5 reported behavior that negatively impacted the student’s educational experience
• 3 reported conduct that was not unwelcome at the time, but now is perceived as inappropriate and unprofessional
• 3 men and 4 women reported observing Manweller’s actions that made them feel uncomfortable

Manweller responses

Manweller denies the allegations of inappropriate and unprofessional behavior detailed in the investigation report. Otherwise, he says he cannot remember people or instances well enough to comment. For example, the report states that when he was asked by the investigator if he prodded female students about their sexual experiences while they were at a bar together, Manweller responded by saying he could not recall conversations that happened at a bar 11 years ago.

While the investigation into Manweller was underway, he toured media denouncing the allegations of sexual harassment and inappropriate behavior, calling them a “Weinstein-era witch hunt.”

He also released a video response on his campaign website — he is currently running for re-election — which argues that his actions have been misinterpreted. And more, the entire controversy is the result of “selective prosecution” twisted to fit the “subjective opinion from one Seattle attorney that things like looking at a student constituted unprofessional and inappropriate behavior.”

“There is nothing in this report to apologize for,” Manweller says in the video. “The things that are true are not inappropriate. The things that are inappropriate are not true.”

The lawmaker has alleged that the investigator, Trish K. Murphy, has a liberal bias. He has argued that being a Conservative at a Liberal college has made him a target and that Murphy “cooked the books” from the beginning of the investigation.

Manweller has also produced a witness of his own. Former CWU student Isa Holsclaw went on the record to state that she felt the investigator pushed her to testify against Manweller when she described a road trip from Ellensburg to Seattle with the professor. She says the trip was innocent and Manweller did not act inappropriately. She felt, however, that Murphy attempted to steer her into statements that implied Manweller acted unprofessionally.

Manweller told KIRO Radio’s Dori Monson that he is filing a lawsuit for potentially $2 million or more against Central Washington University for breach of contract, defamation of character, and workplace harassment. The school has fired him from his position as a political science professor for “inappropriate conduct.”

Originally published Aug. 22, 2018. Updated Sept. 24, 2018.

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