Pictured above: Isaiah Castle said he believes investigators will find that he has “done nothing wrong” and that he will be cleared of “any wrongdoing.”
Cassidy Schuck | The Crow’s Nest
The first lieutenant governor-elect for a consolidated Student Government at USF St. Petersburg is under a Title IX investigation.
Isaiah Castle, who was first elected to the SG senate in November, confirmed that he is being investigated under the federal civil rights law that prohibits sexual discrimination, including harassment and violence in colleges and universities.
In an email to The Crow’s Nest on April 27, Castle said he has “nothing to hide.” He said he is “actively participating in the process” and “fully cooperating with investigators.”
“I believe that when the investigation is complete, they will find that I have done nothing wrong and will clear me of any wrongdoing,” he said. (See his full statement below.)
Castle, a junior political science major from St. Petersburg, also asked the paper not to publish a story until the investigation is complete.
The female student who filed the Title IX complaint has not filed a criminal complaint with either the University Police Department or the St. Petersburg Police Department, according to those agencies.
The Crow’s Nest does not name people who allege they are victims of sexual harassment or violence.
The university, citing state and federal laws, said it “cannot provide this information” when asked to confirm the investigation and when the complaint was filed.
Andrea Campos, campus governor-elect, declined to “publicly comment on this matter until the investigation is over.”
“I would also appreciate The Crow’s Nest respecting the privacy of both parties during this time,” she said in an email to the paper on April 29.
She and Castle will be inaugurated as governor and lieutenant governor of the St. Petersburg campus SG at 11 a.m. on May 11 during a Microsoft Teams meeting.
The Castle investigation is at least the third time in recent years that allegations of sexual misconduct have affected Student Government.
In August 2016, SG President Ziya Kardas and Vice President Gina Rotunno took leaves of absence and then resigned six months later.
The abrupt departures, which were never explained, apparently came after a dispute between Kardas and Rotunno that involved allegations of harassment.
The university “thoroughly investigated the harassment allegations and I was completely cleared,” Kardas told The Crow’s Nest in an email in February 2017.
He declined to offer further explanation.
In May 2017, SG’s vice president-elect, Samuel Goetz, was expelled after the university determined he sexually assaulted a female student in his dorm room in September 2016.
He fought the expulsion in Pinellas County Circuit Court. Three judges eventually ruled that his rights of due process were denied by both the university’s student conduct board and Dean of Students Jacob Diaz, and the expulsion was cleared from his record.
In August 2019, Goetz’s accuser addressed the case publicly for the first time in an anonymous letter to the editor that criticized The Crow’s Nest for how it handled the story.
“You have disrespected me and positively portrayed my abuser, Samuel Goetz, over and over again,” she wrote.
“As a newspaper, I ask that you reevaluate your ethical and moral boundaries, rather than use my story as your hot take on #MeToo.”
In October 2019, a Title IX complaint was filed against then-senator Daymia “Mia” Bonilla for sexual harassment and non-consensual sexual contact after she, her accuser and a third student consumed hallucinogenic mushrooms in a USF St. Petersburg dorm room.
Bonilla has acknowledged removing her shirt and proposing an orgy, but has denied pressuring anyone.
She resigned from the Senate in February and published a letter to the editor last month contending that she was “bullied, betrayed and defamed” by her accuser.
The investigation is still apparently ongoing.
‘I certainly have nothing to hide’
This is Isaiah Castle’s full statement:
I can confirm that there is an investigation open. I keep my personal life private, but since you say you HAVE to write about it, I certainly have nothing to hide.
I’ve chosen not to speak about it due to it being an ongoing investigation and doing so could impact it, but I will say that I am actively participating in the process and am fully cooperating with the investigators.
I believe that when the investigation is complete, they will find that I have done nothing wrong and will clear me of any wrongdoing. I do however ask that you don’t publish your story until the investigation is complete and all of the facts are available, although I’ll respect your decision as an organization if you choose to.
I really don’t understand why there are so many allegations against people in student government. This has been an ongoing thing since I got a position till now. I hope SG has a real conversation about this & doesn’t sweep it under the rug like they usually do. Maybe SG needs a TitleIX workshop or something because this is ridiculous.
When Zay was running in the Fall 2019 Senate Election, rumors swirled that he was “didn’t treat women well” and that we shouldn’t vote for him. His friendly demeanor made many of us ignore these claims. That, however, has proven to be a fatal mistake. Like so many of his male political counterparts, Zay has hidden behind a likeable persona to reach new heights of power (moving from new senator to campus Lieutenant Governor in his freshman year alone) and distract others from his lack of respect for women.
Now, like many of his male counterparts, he is accused of sexually violating another, traipsing past “no” to fulfill his own desires.
As a female student and former SG senator, I will not stand to watch the university turn a blind eye and Zay dodge punishment with his friendly smile.
Female students are students, too, and deserve the respect that male students have.
Zay, please do the right thing and resign. You do not represent the safety and comfort of a campus that values women.
So you dont believe in the right to a fair trial. You are a very sad individual.
As a woman who is all too familiar with the prevalance of powerful men who perpetuate rape culture, I believe it is necessary for Zay to be fully transparent with everyone and issue a public statement of exactly what it is that he is being accused of. We live in a cultural climate in which our top two presidential candidates have very credible allegations of sexual assault against them, yet are unaffected. This is unacceptable and we must hold perpetrators accountable whenever possible. I believe that we should give the survivor the opportunity to tell their story, and we should come in with the assumption that survivors are telling the truth. I am, however, a believer in due process and I believe that we must listen to both sides, especially with the dark history of the Black Rapist Myth in this country. Zay, as a public servant, I think that you owe it to your constituents to tell us what is going on. Whether it is on the USFSP Know It All’s Guide, A Letter to the Editor, or on the @camposcastle2020 Instagram page, be transparent.
This is very inappropriate of the crows nest to report on. Yes there needs to be transparency and I’m not discrediting anyone’s feeling as everything is valid but as Title IX issues are supposed to be investigated and handled PRIVATELY, I find this very insensitive and is creating a bad image for someone who hasn’t even been through the investigation process fully by what you describe in this article. What ever happened to “innocent until proven guilty” smh, everyone commenting such harsh words to one of our fellow students. Why did this situation have to be brought up during the investigation process (which is to be handled in privacy to protect both parties) and not when there is a final answer for what is decided?
With all these issues we should just get rid of SG for good.