Amid a public outcry and the uncovering of new evidence, former Penn professor and convicted sex felon Tracy McIntosh's research job in Milan, Italy, seems to rest on thin ice.
While a hearing took place yesterday to determine whether McIntosh would be called back to Philadelphia, officials at the Italian hospital where McIntosh was hired were quoted in the newspaper Il Giornale as saying they had known nothing of his criminal history and that they are planning to revoke his six-month employment agreement.
In addition, documents brought to light at the end of the hearing suggest that McIntosh's posting may be illegal whether the decision to allow him to take it was appropriate or not.
McIntosh, who was convicted last year of sexually assaulting the niece of a close friend in his campus office in 2002, was allowed by Judge Rayford Means to forgo part of his house arrest sentence to take the position in Milan.
Though Means allowed McIntosh to leave the country, it is unclear if McIntosh took the steps necessary to make the trip legal.
Just before today's hearing ended, a probation and parole officer entered the courtroom with a letter documenting that McIntosh did not have a work visa, which is required for foreigners working in Italy.
Thomas Bergstrom, McIntosh's lawyer, said his client was told by the Italian hospital that he did not need a visa.
If if turns out that McIntosh is in fact working abroad illegally, Means said he would request that McIntosh return to Philadelphia immediately.
And if it is proven that McIntosh did not need a work visa, that still does not necessarily mean he will be staying in Italy.
District Attorney Lynn Abraham has called Means' decision a "mockery" of McIntosh's victim and has been putting pressure on Means to bring McIntosh back to Philadelphia.
Means also presided over yesterday's hearing, although if the ruling allowing McIntosh to cut his sentence short is overturned, the judge may recuse himself from the case at Abraham's request.
At the hearing today, Means said that because of McIntosh's close connections to the Italian hospital, which used to send post-doctoral students to McIntosh's Penn lab, he may have had friends or colleagues with an interest in helping him get work there.
Means also said that he had believed Abraham was aware of both McIntosh's November request to travel abroad and the request's approval.
Since this was not the case, Abraham was never able to oppose the motions.
Still, Means defended his decision to release McIntosh from house arrest, saying that it is standard for the parole department to release certain felons after six months.
Penn General Counsel Wendy White said that release from house arrest is common with these types of cases.
"His defense lawyer filed a motion to allow him to go to Italy ... and the prosecutor did not oppose it, so it was granted," White said earlier this week.
Bergstrom objected to the call from Abraham's office for Means to recuse himself, as well as to efforts to return McIntosh to Philadelphia.
"I don't think it's appropriate for the district attorney's office to interfere with McIntosh's employment," Bergstrom said.
He denounced the article from Il Giornale, calling its comments about McIntosh "absolutely not true."
Bergstrom said he had received an e-mail from McIntosh's supervisor at the Milan hospital saying that "the storm has passed" from Il Giornale's article and that McIntosh is still working at the hospital.
Assistant District Attorney Chris Mallios said that questions about McIntosh's employment should have been answered before Means allowed him to go abroad.
Means scheduled a followup hearing for Feb. 8 to address the new details of the case.
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