U. professor charged with rape

Neurosurgery Professor Tracy McIntosh has been charged with raping a woman in his office on campus.

The alleged incident occurred on September 6, 2002. According to police reports, the victim -- who is neither a University student nor an employee, according to University Health System spokeswoman Rebecca Harmon -- claimed that she was raped by McIntosh in his office in Hayden Hall after smoking marijuana that he had provided.

McIntosh surrendered to police last Thursday, accompanied by his attorney.

McIntosh's lawyer Thomas Bergstrom was quick to note that McIntosh's voluntary surrender was in no way an admission of guilt. He said that McIntosh was merely following procedure and that "if you don't surrender, then [the police] come after you."

He added that McIntosh was "completely taken aback" when he learned of the charges against him.

McIntosh himself could not be reached for comment.

He has been released on $2,000 bail and will appear in court today for a preliminary hearing that will determine whether McIntosh will be tried.

Bergstrom said he "expect[s] that this case will be held for trial."

McIntosh is currently on leave from Penn, which began Wednesday, one day before he turned himself over to police.

However, Harmon would neither confirm nor deny whether the leave was related to the alleged rape.

The police were unable to comment on when the victim reported the incident. However, Philadelphia police officer Sheila Smith said that there has been "an ongoing investigation" into the incident for some time.

Harmon said that the victim also informed the University about the incident.

"We learned of the woman's allegations about two and a half months after the alleged events," she said. "We responded immediately and appropriately and conducted an internal investigation into the matter."

However, the School of Medicine's investigation -- which began in mid-November -- "could not produce any information corroborating her version of events," according to Harmon.

"This matter is now with the police and, I assume, with the courts," Harmon said.

She noted that prior to this incident, there have been no complaints or allegations of any kind leveled against McIntosh.

McIntosh has been on the faculty since 1992. His research has focused mainly on the biochemical responses of the brain to traumatic head injury.

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