FRANKFORT, Ky. - The Court of Appeals says the University of Kentucky withheld records and violated the Open Records Act in connection to an alleged Title IX sexual harassment investigation involving a tenured professor.

The case began two years ago when the school's newspaper, the Kentucky Kernel, asked the University for documents “detailing the investigation by the University of Kentucky or the Office of Institutional Equity and Equal Opportunity of a tenured professor and any allegations of sexual harassment, sexual assault or any other misconduct.”

UK denied the request and the paper appealed the decision to the Office of the Attorney General, which has a statutory duty to determine if records are properly withheld under the Open Records Act.  Attorney General Andy Beshear ruled on August 1, 2016 that UK didn't meet its burden of proof in denying the records request. 

The school fought the ruling by filing a lawsuit in Fayette Circuit Court. A Fayette County judge ruled in favor of the University, but the paper appealed, bringing the case to the Kentucky Court of Appeals. Today's decision in favor of the newspaper will require UK to comply with the Open Records Act and give the requested documents related to the investigation to the Kernel.  UK can ask for a discretionary review with the Kentucky Supreme Court.  According to a report in the Kernel, if the University wants to continue the open records fight, the paper will be prepared.

Beshear's office has intervened in similiar cases involving Western Kentucky University and Kentucky State Univefrsity. A ruling in the WKU case is pending, but on November 15, 2017, Frankilin Circuit Court upheld the attorney general's decision in the KSU case.  KSU did not appeal and released the records.

The Kentucky Kernel contributed details to this story.