Kent State’s controversial Julio Pino pleads guilty to lying to federal investigators
A controversial Kent State University professor pleaded guilty Thursday in U.S. District Court to lying to federal investigators as part of an agreement with prosecutors.
Julio Pino, a tenured professor of history, opted to plead to making a false statement to law enforcement instead of having a grand jury examine the case or have it go to trial.
Pino, 57, was charged Monday and suspended from the university the same day. The federal charge stems from a 2015 FBI investigation into a post by one of his Facebook friends.
Judge Patricia Gaughan scheduled Pino’s sentencing for noon Aug. 23. She set a $25,000 unsecured bond for Pino until the sentencing. He also was required to surrender his passport and other travel documents.
The judge agreed to allow him to travel to Florida for a month to visit his mother.
Warner Mendenhall, his Akron attorney, said Pino has no plans to return to teaching at Kent State and he has put in for early retirement.
“Mr. Pino has been very clear that he’s not a personally violent person and does not encourage violence,” Mendenhall said.
Kent State is moving forward with firing Pino “in accordance with personnel policies,” university spokesman Eric Mansfield said.
“He remains suspended from the university, and is prohibited from coming on to any Kent State campus,” Mansfield said in a prepared statement. “A qualified instructor has taken over his classes so that his students can finish their studies on time and without interruption.” ...