After students called for transparency from administrators at a protest Wednesday, American University released a statement dismissing allegations against School of International Service professor Earl Anthony Wayne.
Wayne was named in a recent release of records related to the U.S. Justice Department’s investigation into the late financier and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. Wayne was mentioned in an email from Kenneth D. Turner to a New York Police Department detective on a task force with the FBI. Turner accused Wayne of committing severe sexual assault crimes in Mexico, the details of which both the FBI and The Eagle have not been able to corroborate.
The University conducted a “due diligence review” of the allegations against Wayne, and on Friday interim Dean of SIS Rachel Robinson said in a message to the school’s students and faculty it had not corroborated Turner’s claims.
“To date, no information has been found to corroborate the unverified report, and it has been determined that there is no immediate threat to health and safety requiring action under university policies,” the update read, adding that the review is ongoing with law enforcement.
The American Academy of Diplomacy said in a statement it rejects the allegations against Wayne as false and malicious. It said the Academy’s chair, who was a senior State Department official at the time, would have been aware of the allegations.
Turner claimed that Wayne had an outstanding arrest warrant in Mexico, but the Academy said any arrest warrant would have been pursued by authorities through the extradition process. It noted that Wayne has frequently returned to Mexico without incident.
In a statement to The Eagle, Wayne strongly denied the allegations, calling the claims outlandish. The FBI referred questions to the Justice Department, which did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The Mexican embassy in D.C. and Mexican prosecutor general’s office did not respond to multiple requests for comment.
The FBI said in an October 2019 internal document that Turner did not provide evidence to support his claims against Wayne.
In his communications with law enforcement, Turner falsely claimed that Mexican police had raided the U.S. embassy in 2014. He also speculated that Epstein’s death in a New York City federal prison was not the result of suicide — a controversial theory that has been dismissed by the Justice Department.
Turner told the FBI that a naval officer, Richard A. Marcinko, who died in 2021, had a connection to Epstein and committed sex crimes in Mexico, but did not link Wayne to Epstein.
AU is mentioned two other times in the Epstein files. In 2002, Epstein paid AU tuition for the son of Cecile deJongh and John P. deJongh Jr. Cecile deJongh was Epstein’s office manager and sat on the board of his foundation, and her husband was the governor of the U.S. Virgin Islands, where Epstein owned a private island. The checks from Epstein to AU first appeared when Epstein victims sued the deJonghs in 2023.
In a 2011 email, Boris Nikolic, an adviser to Bill Gates, told Epstein that Sylvia Burwell, who six years later would become the president of AU, was interviewing for a job at J.P. Morgan Chase and was “NOT a good fit.” Epstein forwarded the email to Jes Staley, then a senior executive at the investment bank.
Although the allegations were not confirmed by authorities, students at a Wednesday protest expressed frustration that the University had not responded or committed to investigating the claims. The Friday announcement from Robinson was the first mention of a review.
The protest was organized by No More at American University, an organization combating domestic and sexual violence globally. Around 60-70 students called on Robinson and University President Jonathan Alger to address the severe sexual assault allegations against Wayne.
“Why hasn’t a statement been made?” Adah Nordan, education and outreach director for No More at AU, asked the crowd. “We should be outraged by how AU is reacting.”
The protest and students’ demands for transparency unfolded alongside intense media scrutiny over the government’s handling of the Epstein files, in which unredacted documents include victims’ names, birthdays, faces, and sensitive information such as bank account information and social security numbers. Lawyers and survivors warned that such disclosures exacerbated harm and demonstrated the government’s failure to safeguard its citizens.
Demonstrators said the protest was intended to disrupt Wayne’s 2:30 p.m. class, though several speakers claimed the professor’s classes were relocated for the week. They also said that SIS faculty were given an email response to share with students who asked questions about Wayne.
Protestors carried signs and chanted protests such as, “shame on Wayne” and “Alger, Alger, come out of hiding, there’s a wrong that needs righting” while walking through the quad and around the East Quad Building where Wayne’s class was originally located. Following the march, protestors gathered outside the SIS building once more to demand a statement from Dean Robinson.
“Our main goal of the protest today was just so that the dean of SIS would hear us and make a response, as well as President Alger,” Nordan said. “Now that the students are here, we know what’s going on and we’re angry and we won’t stand for it.”
Organizers outlined four demands: transparency from University administration regarding any actions taken, a formal response from University and SIS administration, Wayne’s suspension without pay pending an investigation and pressure from the University on authorities to pursue a criminal investigation.
Jahsiah Bowie, a freshman in the School of Public Affairs, said he thought students felt compelled to act because of the severity of the allegations.
“What Earl Wayne is accused of is downright disgusting,” Bowie said. “Students have to stand up and call on the administration to take action.”
In the first week of February, several students expressed their outrage toward the University’s silence via social media. Tamya Sousa, a junior in the College of Arts and Sciences, said she thought an official statement should have been made by the University the same day the allegations were publicized.
“We don’t agree with silence,” Sousa said.
Nordan raised concerns that by staying silent in the face of such allegations, the University was setting a precedent that these things are possible.
Some students also felt that the University’s silence on this issue made them question their place on campus. Isabela Perez, an undecided freshman, said that the University’s silence is not what she signed up for by coming to American University.
“If nothing’s said, I would be so ashamed of the University,” Perez said. “I honestly would not want to be a student here anymore.”
Despite the allegations not being confirmed by any further documentation, Nordan believes there is still cause for concern, referencing the fact that 98 percent of perpetrators of sexual violence walk free, according to the Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network.
“The reason why we’re concerned is because this was released by the government,” she said. “This isn’t just like it’s an ‘internet rumor’ as AU’s calling it, this is something that raises actual concern and possible danger to students.”
No More at AU originally called for Wayne to be fired and extradited immediately, though Nordan said that they revised their demands after learning more about the origins of the allegations.
Still, Bowie called for him to leave.
“At the very least, I hope that he is suspended without pay,” Bowie said. “I’d like to see him fired. These allegations are very serious, and they cannot be taken lightly.”
This article was edited by Natalie Hausmann, Payton Anderson and Walker Whalen. Copy editing and fact-checking done by Avery Grossman.
