UC Berkeley professor accused of rape and sexual assault by former student

"I'm encouraged to report in the wake of the Weinstein and #metoo movements," wrote Kimberly S Latta, a Philadelphia based PhD student in a letter to Stanford University about her alleged abuse and rape by a professor at UC Berkeley.

Kimberly Latta, a graduate student at UC Berkeley during 1984-85 took to Facebook to make her letter public about how her then-professor Franco Moretti. Latta said that he sexually stalked, pressured, and raped her.

Franco Moretti is Stanford professor emeritus in the English department.

She remembered the ordeal she had to face with the continued abuse even after reporting the matter to Title IX officer at the UCB. The officer who was friends with the professor pressured her to state only Moretti's initials.

Latta said that, "He (Moretti) threatened to ruin my career if I pressed charges against him." She talked about remaining silent for all these years but with so many women coming out speaking on the issue of abuse and rape, she finally got the encouragement to share her ordeal with the world."

Here is what she said on her Facebook post:

After earning her degree at the UCB, Latta went on to become assistant professor of English at the University of Pittsburgh and Saint Louis University. Later on, she switched careers to psychotherapy and writing.

Moretti retired from Stanford during last spring and is on leave this academic year. He is known for his work on literary theory and digital humanities.