Former UNC basketball player Jalek Felton was expelled for sexual assault, according to records released by the school on Thursday.

Felton was suspended by the university in January 2018 and sought legal counsel from Durham-based attorney Sutton & Lindsay. Later that year, Felton’s attorney Kerry Sutton said he withdrew from the university. Sutton told WCHL at the time that there was “nothing we’ve heard that justifies UNC’s actions against Jalek Felton.”

UNC head coach Roy Williams said in 2018 that he was not involved with Felton’s suspension.

“I had nothing to do with how it was handled and that’s probably all I should say,” Williams said, “because I’ve been advised not to say anything and don’t know enough to say anything.”

New documents obtained by The Daily Tar Heel and the News & Observer show that Felton was found to have violated UNC’s policies on sexual assault or sexual violence. Felton was expelled from the university system, ordered to have no contact with the person who filed the complaint, and banned from returning to campus for four years.

This information was made public following a lawsuit filed by the DTH Media Corporation, WRAL, The Charlotte Observer, and The Durham Herald Sun in 2016.

UNC initially denied a request from the group to obtain documents regarding anyone found responsible for rape, sexual assault and other sexual misconduct. The university argued the records were protected by the Federal Education Rights and Privacy Act, which shields academic records from public disclosure.

Earlier this year, the state Supreme Court ruled that UNC must release disciplinary records of students who violated the school’s sexual assault policies.

The public release of these documents comes a few weeks after UNC settled for $1.5 million with the U.S. Department of Education over violations of campus safety laws found during a six-year federal review. A report found that the university failed to properly respond, discipline and prevent sexual assault incidents, as well as failed to report campus crimes.

Felton, the nephew of former Tar Heel star Raymond Felton, signed to play overseas after he was expelled. He went undrafted in the 2019 NBA Draft.

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