How often does a call girl scandal prompt the resignation of a law school dean? For former Villanova Law School Dean Sargent, one time too many!
Philly.com reports, so read on, read-oners.
Ex-dean helped police, report says
By Kathleen Brady Shea
Police investigating a prostitution ring in Chester County relied on two customers, including the dean of Villanova Law School, to provide information that culminated last week in a no-contest plea by the man promoting the business, documents show.
Mark A. Sargent, who was appointed dean in 1987, resigned suddenly Monday, citing personal and medical reasons.
According to a report by the Pennsylvania State Police, Sargent was a customer at a Kennett Township house suspected as a site for prostitution when police raided it Nov. 25. He was not charged.
The Rev. Peter Donohue, the Villanova University president, was out of town yesterday and unavailable for comment, said Jonathan Gust, university spokesman.
Gust said that the university had accepted Sargent’s resignation and that he would not be returning to the faculty. He declined comment on Sargent’s involvement in the prostitution bust.
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The November raid came after a six-week surveillance of the house on Round Hill Road. The dwelling’s owner, Stephen A. Clark, was arrested Nov. 26 and pleaded no contest to charges of promoting prostitution and conspiracy. He was sentenced to 5 to 23 months in jail.
In an interview at the jail Wednesday, Clark, 62, of Kennett Township, said he believed a “celebrity perp,” as he called Sargent, got a free pass and influenced the outcome of his case.
“That’s absolutely not true,” said Chester County District Attorney Joseph W. Carroll.
