Graphic: Elizabeth Stump | Staff Writer

Editor’s note: This article contains discussion of sexual harassment. Resources and helplines can be found at the end of the article. 

Associate Professor of Chemistry Jonathan Barnes was removed from teaching after multiple female students accused Barnes of inappropriate touching during private meetings with him in the fall of 2024. Anonymous allegations against Barnes were initially publicized in a post by MeToo WashU, an Instagram account raising awareness about sexual violence on campus.   

Over a year later, Barnes faces three class C misdemeanor counts of fourth-degree assault referred by the Washington University Police Department (WUPD) to the St. Louis County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office. A trial date for the case has not yet been set, and the maximum sentences on each charge are 15 days in jail and a $750 fine. 

The filing describes the experiences of two anonymous female students in October 2024 who attended one-on-one office hours for the organic chemistry course he taught. Barnes’ alleged contact includes touching their shoulders and lower backs, as well as placing his hand and cell phone on the thigh of one student. 

These descriptions are similar to the experiences four female students recounted to Student Life in November of 2024.  

The charges were referred to the prosecutor’s office by Jeri Hokamp, a WUPD officer. Hokamp’s statement alleges that Barnes poses “danger” to the community and that WUPD believed at the time of the filing Barnes planned to move to Texas.

Barnes’ attorney, Christopher Combs, denied all misconduct allegations and alleged that one of Barnes’ complainants stated she did not believe a crime had occurred.  

“The charges are among the weakest I’ve seen filed by the St. Louis County Prosecutor’s Office. If they want to take this to trial, I cannot wait,” Combs wrote in a statement to Student Life.  

Barnes’ alleged move to Texas is “just another lie that has been spread around campus,” according to Combs.

In addition, Combs maintains that the allegations were exacerbated into a campus-wide “moral panic” by social media, especially by posts made on the anonymous campus-specific app Sidechat.  

Barnes taught Organic Chemistry (OChem) three times between his hiring in 2016 and his replacement by another professor midway through his fourth semester teaching the subject. In addition to OChem, Barnes taught an advanced chemistry course on polymers and led the Barnes Laboratory, a research group focused on creating synthetic materials for engineering and medicinal applications.

The names and biographies of the three undergraduate student researchers employed by the Barnes Lab were removed from its site as of Oct. 14, 2025. As recently as a year ago, Barnes continued to conduct research after being removed from teaching, but it is unclear if he is still involved with the lab today.  

In 2023, when asked about allegations of sexual misconduct against two other professors, Chancellor Andrew D. Martin told Student Life that WashU takes allegations of sexual misconduct very seriously. He said the school conducts internal investigations into claims and “sanction[s] individuals appropriately,” if necessary. As to why WashU does not comment on individual cases, Martin cited privacy concerns.  

WashU’s Vice Chancellor for Marketing and Communications, Julie Flory, and Director of the Gender Equity and Title IX Compliance Office and Title IX Coordinator, Jessica Kennedy, declined to comment and did not confirm if WashU has an ongoing Title IX investigation into the allegations against Barnes or if he currently has any interaction with students.

In an article about why WashU does not comment publicly on sexual misconduct allegations, Kennedy told Student Life that the University is bound by the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA), which limits the information a school can disclose. 

Kennedy said in addition to the federal regulations that bind them, the Title IX Office believes the retaliatory reaction that might ensue after an investigation is made public could be harmful to both the complainant who filed the report and the respondent.     

Combs claims that WashU’s Title IX Office violated Barnes’ due process rights during its investigation and believes that the case being unresolved 14 months later is indicative of mishandling. 

“[The Title IX Office has] shown complete disregard for Dr. Barnes’ due process rights: redacting large portions of his written statements, attempting to suppress key defense witnesses, rewarding complainants with grade accommodation, and threatening students who didn’t want to participate with Code of Conduct violations,” Combs wrote in a statement to Student Life.      

WashU’s Department of Chemistry’s webpage and Barnes’ LinkedIn profile list him as currently employed as an associate professor of chemistry. Combs wrote that Barnes will pursue every legal avenue to clear his name.  

WUPD’s Chief of Police, Angela Coonce, said WUPD will work with the prosecutor’s office as needed, but could not comment further due to the ongoing criminal investigation.

The Sexual Assault and Rape Anonymous Helpline (S.A.R.A.H) provides confidential and anonymous support and can be reached at 314-935-8080 24 /7 during the fall and spring academic semesters.

There are counselors at the Relationship and Sexual Violence Prevention (RSVP) Center, located in Seigle Hall, Suite 435, available confidentially to any University student. The office can be reached at 314-935-3445 or by email at mailto:[email protected].

The National Sexual Assault Hotline can be reached at 1-800-656-4673 or via online chat at https://hotline.rainn.org/online 24/7.

To reach Title IX, students can contact Title IX Coordinator Jessica Kennedy at 314-935-3118 or go to the Title IX Office in Umrath Hall 001.