Former student accepts settlement for assault charges

A former University student accused of assaulting his ex-girlfriend accepted a settlement offered to him by Judicial Inquiry Officer Constance Goodman, according to the ex-girlfriend. The woman said her ex-boyfriend, Avrum Kaufman, agreed to a settlement including eviction from campus, individual and group therapy, compensation for some of her belongings he had destroyed and restraint from direct or third-party contact with her. Last month, the woman, a 1990 College graduate, began criminal proceedings against Kaufman. Kaufman, who would have graduated last May, will be granted his diploma at the start of the spring semester if he has fufilled the terms of the settlement, the woman said. The woman withdrew support for the settlement in a letter to Goodman dated July 25. "I have come to the conclusion that some measures of more punitive nature should be taken against Mr. Kaufman and I am prepared to go to hearing this September in order to see this take place," she wrote. According to University policies, had Kaufman not accepted the settlement, there would be a hearing to resolve the charges. Philadelphia Sex Crimes Officer David Povernick said that an investigation is ongoing. Attempted rape, indecent assault, terroristic threats, harassment, simple assault, and unlawful restraint were the charges that officers said could be filed against Kaufman, the woman said. She said she postponed pursuing criminal charges until last month because she did not want to be involved in criminal and University judicial cases at the same time. JIO Goodman said last night that a settlement had been reached, but declined to release details. Kaufman has refused to speak to reporters in the past and his lawyer was on vacation and could not be reached for comment.

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