CW: Sexual harassment, sexual violence
On Oct. 25, Pitzer College fired their director of alumni programs, Justin Baker. The decision came one day after Baker was convicted of abusive sexual contact aboard a flight to Seattle, where he molested an 18-year-old woman.
“All Pitzer staff and administrators, and alumni leaders who also worked with Justin, are shocked and angered by this deeply disturbing news,” Wendy Shattuck, assistant vice president of Pitzer’s communications team, wrote in an email to TSL.
Shattuck added that the college’s Office of Alumni Engagement and Office of Advancement organization are working to address the new staffing gap and move forward in serving Pitzer alumni.
Police initially arrested Baker last March after his flight from Burbank, California, landed at the Seattle-Tacoma International Airport. His case was later investigated by the FBI and the Port of Seattle Police.
On the flight, Baker was seated beside a young woman in a window seat who he learned “was preparing to go to college and was just 18 years old,” according to a statement by the United States Attorney’s Office.
Court records state that Baker showed the woman sexually explicit text messages on his phone before draping a jacket across his lap and her lower body and groping her over her clothing.
Despite the victim’s attempts to move away and say “No,” Baker continued to grope her even as she left her seat to alert the flight crew. During the trial, Assistant U.S. Attorney Kristine Foerster said that Baker “saw the word ‘No’ as a speedbump, not a stop sign.”
This is not the first time that Baker has molested someone, according to testimony during the trial. In 2004, Baker — then a youth pastor — attempted to molest a 15-year-old girl underneath a blanket, despite her saying “No.”
Pitzer was unaware of Baker’s past when they hired him in June of 2023, according to the Division of Student Affairs (DSA). He successfully passed the necessary background checks and no issues were found in his records.
The college only learned of the conviction when it became public last week, and the Department of Justice did not contact Pitzer as a part of its investigation, DSA said.
Alayna Session-Goins, Pitzer’s dean of students, said at an Oct. 27 senate meeting that Baker seemed to have kept the situation “under wraps until at the absolute last moment.” She added that anyone who has a negative interaction with staff, faculty or students should report it to Pitzer’s Human Resources or Title IX offices.
U.S. District Judge John C. Coughenour set Baker’s sentencing for Jan. 21, 2025.
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