Xeusong “Gary” Yang, former UIS employee, was sentenced to six and a half years in prison after pleading guilty to one count of criminal sexual abuse and one count of obstruction of justice. The plea was entered on June 6, and Judge Leslie Graves handed down the sentence on Aug. 8. Yang was originally charged with two counts of criminal sexual assault, but those charges were later dismissed.

Last August, authorities arrested Yang after a 17-year-old exchange student under his authority reported that he had raped her on two separate occasions at Yang’s off-campus, downtown business office. According to the Illinois Times (IT), which broke the story in January 2017, the victim told a friend of the assaults, who then told a UIS resident assistant. The resident assistant informed the UIS Police, who passed the information along to local police, as the reported incidents happened off campus.

The sexual abuse charge was officially filed as a Class 2 felony, which carries a maximum sentence of 7 years in Illinois. The obstruction of justice charge came with a $5,000 fine. Yang will have to serve at least fifty percent of his sentence.

At the sentencing hearing, Yang addressed the court in a prepared statement, saying of his crime “The offense destroyed my dignity, my honor, and my life. I’m sorry.”

The victim was not present at the hearing, as she had returned home for the summer. However, in a prerecorded video statement, she said, “When I came to the United States, I don’t have any people … I just come here alone. When this thing happen, I feel very upset. No one can help me.”

According to IT, the victim also noted how she was worried of Yang’s potential reach in her home country and that he might harm her family.

UIS employed Yang as a visiting admissions counselor and student adviser for a pre-determined three-year period. His contract with the university concluded days before the arrest.

After the news broke, the university began addressing student’s concerns with campus safety. Vice Chancellor of Student Affairs, Clarice Ford, hosted a campus safety panel in late January, and various campus officials fielded questions from the campus senate in February.

The campus police department opened up multiple investigations into the accusations. Currently, it seems that with the conviction of Yang, the investigations are closed.