{"id":120556,"date":"2025-05-27T16:03:26","date_gmt":"2025-05-28T00:03:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/2025\/05\/27\/ex-law-school-dean-sentenced-to-nearly-a-decade-behind-bars\/"},"modified":"2025-05-27T16:03:26","modified_gmt":"2025-05-28T00:03:26","slug":"ex-law-school-dean-sentenced-to-nearly-a-decade-behind-bars","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/2025\/05\/27\/ex-law-school-dean-sentenced-to-nearly-a-decade-behind-bars\/","title":{"rendered":"Ex-Law School Dean Sentenced To Nearly A Decade Behind Bars"},"content":{"rendered":"

Back in 2020, Texas Southern University\u2019s Thurgood Marshall School of Law was rocked by a series of admissions scandals. In one of those scandals, Edward Rene, 57, the school\u2019s former assistant dean of admissions, was charged with theft by a public servant, as part of an ill-advised scholarship scheme<\/a> that netted him about $74,000. As part of that plan, Rene inflated scholarships for two students, and retained the excess funds. Five years have passed, and Rene was recently sentenced not just for felony theft from the school, but also for an unrelated charge of sexual performance by a minor.<\/p>\n

Texas Lawyer<\/a> has the lurid details on the second crime Rene pleaded guilty to last week:<\/p>\n

\n

On Jan. 31, 2023, Rene was charged with one count of sexual performance by a child, unrelated to his position at the law school.<\/p>\n

Allegedly, on June 7, 2018, Rene, who knew the child was younger than 18 years of age, engaged in \u201csexual conduct and sexual performance\u201d with \u201clewd exhibition of the genitals and a digital image that portrayed the complainant engaged in actual and simulated sexual intercourse.\u201d According to the Dec. 21, 2022, charging document.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

TSU issued a statement in the wake of Rene\u2019s sentencing. \u201cThe University is pleased with the outcome of this case and commends the efforts of law enforcement and the judicial system in ensuring justice was served. This was the misconduct of one individual and does not reflect the values, culture, or commitment of the dedicated faculty, staff, and leadership at Texas Southern University. We remain steadfast in our responsibility to uphold the highest standards of ethics and accountability.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThis case serves as a reminder of TSU\u2019s firm commitment to transparency and to being responsible stewards of the public trust and resources provided by the State of Texas,\u201d the statement continued. \u201cAny employee who engages in financial impropriety will face appropriate consequences through legal and institutional processes. Texas Southern University remains focused on its mission of excellence in education, public service, and integrity in all operations.\u201d<\/p>\n

Rene will serve eight years behind bars, and must pay TSU more than $177,000 in restitution.<\/p>\n

Ex-TSU Assistant Law Admissions Dean Sentenced to 8 Years Over Sexual Acts With a Minor, Theft<\/a> [Texas Lawyer]<\/p>\n

Earlier<\/strong>: Law School Dean Charged With Theft In Scholarship Scandal<\/a><\/p>\n

\n
\"Staci
<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Staci Zaretsky<\/a>\u00a0is a senior editor at Above the Law, where she\u2019s worked since 2011. She\u2019d love to hear from you, so please feel free to email<\/a> her with any tips, questions, comments, or critiques. You can follow her on\u00a0Bluesky<\/a>,\u00a0X\/Twitter<\/a>, and\u00a0Threads<\/a>,\u00a0or connect with her on\u00a0LinkedIn<\/a>.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

The post Ex-Law School Dean Sentenced To Nearly A Decade Behind Bars<\/a> appeared first on Above the Law<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n

Back in 2020, Texas Southern University\u2019s Thurgood Marshall School of Law was rocked by a series of admissions scandals. In one of those scandals, Edward Rene, 57, the school\u2019s former assistant dean of admissions, was charged with theft by a public servant, as part of an ill-advised scholarship scheme<\/a> that netted him about $74,000. As part of that plan, Rene inflated scholarships for two students, and retained the excess funds. Five years have passed, and Rene was recently sentenced not just for felony theft from the school, but also for an unrelated charge of sexual performance by a minor.<\/p>\n

Texas Lawyer<\/a> has the lurid details on the second crime Rene pleaded guilty to last week:<\/p>\n

\n

On Jan. 31, 2023, Rene was charged with one count of sexual performance by a child, unrelated to his position at the law school.<\/p>\n

Allegedly, on June 7, 2018, Rene, who knew the child was younger than 18 years of age, engaged in \u201csexual conduct and sexual performance\u201d with \u201clewd exhibition of the genitals and a digital image that portrayed the complainant engaged in actual and simulated sexual intercourse.\u201d According to the Dec. 21, 2022, charging document.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

TSU issued a statement in the wake of Rene\u2019s sentencing. \u201cThe University is pleased with the outcome of this case and commends the efforts of law enforcement and the judicial system in ensuring justice was served. This was the misconduct of one individual and does not reflect the values, culture, or commitment of the dedicated faculty, staff, and leadership at Texas Southern University. We remain steadfast in our responsibility to uphold the highest standards of ethics and accountability.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThis case serves as a reminder of TSU\u2019s firm commitment to transparency and to being responsible stewards of the public trust and resources provided by the State of Texas,\u201d the statement continued. \u201cAny employee who engages in financial impropriety will face appropriate consequences through legal and institutional processes. Texas Southern University remains focused on its mission of excellence in education, public service, and integrity in all operations.\u201d<\/p>\n

Rene will serve eight years behind bars, and must pay TSU more than $177,000 in restitution.<\/p>\n

Ex-TSU Assistant Law Admissions Dean Sentenced to 8 Years Over Sexual Acts With a Minor, Theft<\/a> [Texas Lawyer]<\/p>\n

Earlier<\/strong>: Law School Dean Charged With Theft In Scholarship Scandal<\/a><\/p>\n

\n
\"Staci
<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Staci Zaretsky<\/a>\u00a0is a senior editor at Above the Law, where she\u2019s worked since 2011. She\u2019d love to hear from you, so please feel free to email<\/a> her with any tips, questions, comments, or critiques. You can follow her on\u00a0Bluesky<\/a>,\u00a0X\/Twitter<\/a>, and\u00a0Threads<\/a>,\u00a0or connect with her on\u00a0LinkedIn<\/a>.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Back in 2020, Texas Southern University\u2019s Thurgood Marshall School of Law was rocked by a series of admissions scandals. In one of those scandals, Edward Rene, 57, the school\u2019s former assistant dean of admissions, was charged with theft by a public servant, as part of an ill-advised scholarship scheme that netted him about $74,000. As […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":120557,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[16],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-120556","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-above_the_law"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/xira.com\/p\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/Staci-Zaretsky-BQNNGV.jpeg?fit=150%2C100&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/120556","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=120556"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/120556\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/120557"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=120556"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=120556"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=120556"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}