UK senior loses jobs, ordered to stay away from dorm after assault charge, racial slurs
The University of Kentucky student accused of committing assault and berating a UK student desk clerk with racial slurs in an incident that was caught on video appeared in court for the first time Monday.
Sophia Rosing, a 22-year-old UK senior, was arraigned Monday by Fayette District Judge Bruce Bell for charges of public intoxication, third-degree assault of a police officer, fourth-degree assault and second-degree disorderly conduct.
Rosing’s attorney entered a not guilty plea and Bell and set her bond at $10,000 cash. Her preliminary hearing is scheduled for Nov. 15. If she posts bond and is released from jail, she is ordered to have no contact with Boyd Hall, no consumption of alcohol and no contact with the victim.
Rosing, who was crying when she made her first court appearance Monday, was arrested by UK police after she was seen in Boyd Hall physically assaulting and calling a student desk clerk racial slurs, according to court records.
Police were called to the scene, where Rosing — at the time identified as “Jane Doe” in jail records — was placed under arrest.
Multiple videos were taken of the incident which show a white female saying a racial slur to the desk clerk, who is Black. In one video posted to social media, the suspect continues to repeat the racial slur as a police officer is detaining her.
She also made additional derogatory comments, according to the video, which features explicit language.
When she was being detained, Rosing stated she “has lots of money and (gets) special treatment,” police wrote in an arrest citation. “When I told her to sit back in the chair she kicked me and bit my hand.”
An ambulance arrived and evaluated her. She refused to identify herself and had no ID on her, police wrote in an arrest citation. Her identity was later confirmed by officials at the jail, UK and in court.
Rosing’s attorney, Fred Peters, said after Monday’s court appearance that the family told him their daughter “had never acted like this before.”
“They stated this is completely out of character for her,” Peters said.
It is unknown what repercussions Rosing will face from the university, who said her behavior “would not be tolerated under any circumstance” in a statement from President Eli Capilouto on Sunday afternoon.
He said the office of Student Conduct is conducting an immediate review. It is unknown how long the review will take.
Jay Blanton, a spokesperson for UK, said the university typically does not place a timeline on student conduct reviews.
“Even as we are beginning our process, we also don’t want to do anything that might interfere with a criminal investigation that is underway,” Blanton said. “Without question, we will move as quickly as possible, but also thoroughly and comprehensively. We will follow our process.”
Rosing was quickly terminated from her job at Dillard’s, according to the company. She also lost her influencing partnership with CollegeFashionista, a global, digital community of thousands of college-aged fashion and beauty influencers, according to their website.
In several replies to tweets asking about Rosing’s employment, Dillard’s said it “does not condone this behavior” and “her relationship with Dillard’s has been terminated immediately.”
College Fashionista also released an online statement condemning the actions that were shown in the videos.
“We vehemently denounce this abhorrent behavior and do not condone racism or hate in any form,” the company said. “We unapologetically stand in support of BIPOC communities and affirm that Black lives matter. Full stop. ... Thank you to the community for bringing this to our attention.
“Thank you for raising your voices and holding us accountable. We sincerely apologize for the immense hurt caused to the individuals involved and to our wider community.”
The company also said it would review its processes of vetting members and conducting internal training.
A March Against Racism is being held tonight at the William T. Young Library on UK’s campus at 6 p.m.
Reporter Chris Leach contributed to this story.
This story was originally published November 7, 2022 at 2:10 PM.
