Summary: The former dean of the SMU Law School, John Attanasio agreed to pay $100 for sexual acts, according to an affidavit.
In an update to a story from earlier this week, a former dean of the Southern Methodist University Law School agreed to pay $100 for sex acts at a Frisco hotel, according to The Dallas Morning News.
John Attanasio was arrested on prostitution charges early Sunday morning and taken to the Collin County Jail. There were four others arrested in the undercover prostitution sting.
Attanasio answered an online ad for prostitution prior to his arrest.
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The court records say that the former dean was arrested in the middle of “a multi-agency effort to combat the demand side of commercial sex trafficking.”
The ad was posted to Backpage.com by the Texas Department of Public Safety on Saturday.
Attanasio answered the ad and went to the hotel in Frisco, according to the probable cause affidavit. Attanasio met with a person who turned out to be an undercover police officer and agreed to pay $100 for “specific sexual acts.”
After his arrested he was sent to the jail in Frisco prior to being transferred to the jail in Collin County.
He was released after posting $500 bail for the Class B misdemeanor.
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Attanasio is a resident of Dallas and is the SMU Law School’s Judge William Hawley Atwell Chair of Constitutional Law. He was the dean of the school from 1998 to 2013. His contract was not renewed as dean, which ended his tenure.
A spokesperson for the school did not comment on the arrest or investigation, but did confirm that Attanasio is a full-time faculty member. The spokesperson also said that Attanasio will not teach his regular class this week.
Image credit: SMU Law School
Source: Dallas Morning News