COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) -- Attorneys for Allen University say its president had legitimate reasons to demote a former vice president who is suing the South Carolina university for sexual harassment.
Court records obtained by The State of Columbia say university President Charles Young never harassed Sonya Melton and he was not retaliating or discriminating against her when she lost her job as associate vice president for enrollment management.
Last month, Melton sued Young, the university and the African Methodist Episcopal Church, which runs the school.
Melton's lawsuit accuses Young of coercing her into having sex and attempting to control her relationships and choking and shoving her between 2006 and 2008.
Young and the church have not responded to the lawsuit.
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