Two University of Pittsburgh students have been charged with abuse of a corpse for an alleged incident that took place during a class in November.
Classmates of Amay Gupta and Sonel Jimenez, both 19 years old, reported inappropriate behavior regarding medical cadavers to Pitt police.
The human cadavers were being used in a university anatomy lab class in Victoria Hall on Nov. 4.
During a class about muscle groups, Gupta allegedly inappropriately touched and made inappropriate comments about a male cadaver.
Jimenez allegedly inappropriately touched a female cadaver and made inappropriate comments.
Gupta and Jimenez are scheduled to appear for preliminary hearings in Allegheny County Court in January.
A University of Pittsburgh spokesperson issued the following response:
“The University of Pittsburgh is committed to upholding the dignity of, and respect for, all donors whose selfless acts of giving enhance and enrich education.
As soon as the University became aware of the incident, the appropriate offices, including Pitt Police, the Office of Civil Rights and Title IX, and Compliance, Investigations and Ethics, were notified. It was determined that the alleged acts were criminal in nature, and the suspects have been charged.
Members of the class who witnessed the incidents received information about resources available to them, including counseling services and Title IX programs.
The University is working with the relevant organizations regarding family notifications.”