Dr Giang Thu Nguyen tells tribunal her colleague, Prof Nigel Bean, tried to convince her not to report alleged sexual assault by academic

A doctor seeking $1m for alleged sexual harassment claims a senior colleague urged her not to report the incident, warning it may “destroy” their research.

A senior academic allegedly “spent an hour trying to convince” a colleague not to report her claims she was sexually assaulted and warned it would “destroy” their research group, a tribunal has heard.

Dr Giang Thu Nguyen has told the SA Civil and Administrative Tribunal that the University of Adelaide responded inadequately to her sexual assault allegations against Professor Joshua Ross.

Prof Ross, whom SA Police declined to charge, has denied the allegations and asserted Dr Nguyen was a “willing and consensual partner”.

In the tribunal, Dr Nguyen gave evidence that, three days after the alleged November 2019 incident, she approached Professor Nigel Bean and disclosed her account of events.

At that time she was, she said, part of the same mathematics research group as Prof Bean and Prof Ross.

“Nigel spent an hour trying to convince me not to report Josh to the police,” she told the tribunal.

Dr Giang Thu Nguyen outside the SA Civil and Administrative Tribunal. Picture: Dean Martin.

“Nigel said to me that Josh ‘isn’t going to do it again’ and ‘if you go ahead, this is going to destroy our research group’.

“I thought I’d not be able to live with myself if I found out Josh had harassed someone else later on.”

Dr Nguyen is seeking $1m compensation, asserting she was sexually harassed by Prof Ross at a three-day maths retreat and that the university failed to properly investigate.

She asserts she was too drunk to consent when she and Prof Ross had sex, and retains only “flashes of memory” of the incident.

The university has stood by its investigation, which was critical of Prof Bean’s response to Dr Nguyen’s disclosure.

“Prof Bean failed to adequately deal with Dr Nguyen’s initial report to him,” the university asserts in its court papers.

“He was therefore issued with a formal disciplinary warning.”

Professor Joshua Ross has denied Dr Nguyen’s allegations. Picture: Matt Loxton.

University of Adelaide Professor Nigel Bean received a formal warning over his handling of Dr Nguyen’s allegations. Picture: Supplied.

It further asserts there was “insufficient evidence available” to “make a positive finding” as to whether or not Prof Ross sexually harassed Dr Nguyen.

Continuing her evidence, Dr Nguyen said she had considered Prof Bean a friend and confidante, but their conversation about Prof Ross had shaken her faith in him.

“Nigel thinks very highly of Josh … I didn’t trust him to the point he would not tell Josh (what had been disclosed) without telling me,” she said.

Jane Abbey, for the university, suggested her client did not “expect” its staff to attend social functions around conferences or retreats.

“It’s grants and publication that are the expectation of the university – how the employee goes about obtaining those things is up to the employee,” she said.

Dr Nguyen disagreed, saying promotions were decided on matters including “networking with colleagues” and “prestige” within the academic community.

The hearing continues.