Controversial Administrative Hearing commissioner replaced

An administrative judge who was part of a controversy in 2019 over a proposed law involving sexual harassment on college campuses has been replaced on a state commission.

Gov. Mike Parson replaced Audrey McIntosh on the Administrative Hearing Commission, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported Monday.

McIntosh was criticized two years ago after she became involved in a push by her husband, lobbyist Richard McIntosh, to change a state law on how sexual assault accusations on college campuses are investigated. The push came after the couple’s son was expelled from Washington University.

The proposed law would have allowed those accused of sexual assault to question their accusers at hearings and to have the cases transferred to the commission.

Emails obtained at the time by The Associated Press showed Audrey McIntosh had helped write the language of the proposed law.

The changes to the proposed Title IX legislation were dropped after the conflict of interest was reported.

Katie Jo Wheeler, who recently was deputy director for the Missouri Department of Natural Resources, will replace Audrey McIntosh on the commission.

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