Professor “Fakelakis”

The interest of the media for the case of K.K. has been strong. Corruption of politicians and public officials is relatively high in the country, while investigation levels are quite low. Accordingly, there is anger and strong public sentiments around these crimes. Moreover, across all length of the hierarchy of civil servants, passive bribery of small – or not so small – amounts of money, is traditionally rather usual (what in Greek is called ‘fakelaki’), although these behaviours are slowly starting to change. As these phenomena are persistent throughout the public sphere, there is high interest for these cases and reporting in the media is continuous.

From the day of the arrest of K.K. the media reported a bulk of information: first of all the visual material that was disclosed by the prosecutor was reproduced constantly in the press and TV and is still available on the internet (see above under section 4). Details from the police investigation, parts of K.K. apology, previous complaints that dated back 28 years were reported. Along with the old complaints a lot of new stories by students from the TEI of Serres were published without being clear whether they form part of the case file. Finally, colleague professors and especially the Dean of the TEI of Serres came forward and made public statements. Two months later, K.K.’s claims on his appeal against the continuation of the remand detention were also widely reproduced by the media and his defence lawyer made extensive use of his access to publicity in order to make the defence claims heard and reverse the public climate against the professor.

As regards the police investigation, it is reported that 20 digital discs and 190 transcription reports were collected as evidence by the Internal Affairs Division. According to the reports, this material contains discussions between the professor and the owners of the frontistirio and it is said to be part of the case file. It is further reported that they had set up a bribery industry and students had to pay over 250 euro to pass a lesson. The case file is said to be over 600 pages (Proto thema, Romina Xyda and Katerina Faka, 9/10/2018, “28 years of sexual harassments: the… Weinstein of Serres with the wig“).

Other media reported that 2.500 answer sheets from the exam period June – September 2018 were confiscated by the police. According to the media reports most of them were plane white and were given a 6 (pass grade) (To Vima, 2/11/2018, “The exams at TEI Serron were cancelled, due to professor ‘Fakelakis’“, TA NEA, 2/11/2018, “They cancel the exams at the lessons of professon “Fakelakis“).

Phone dialogues that were said to be recorded by the police in the course of the investigation were publicized in the media. In these dialogues the professor is talking to female students asking them out. Conversations also with the co-owners of the frontistirio were made public, where they are talking about a lot of money that they shouldn’t keep at the frontistirio (To Pontiki web, 8/10/2018, “The dirty dialogues of professor “Fakelakis“).

Parts of K.K.’s apology was publicised in national press (newspaper Sunday Realnews) and reproduced widely in the local, national press, TV and the digital media.

The accused professor refers to the case file as arbitrary that reaches the borders of forged. He says that all charges are based on unproven and arbitrary charges which stemmed from the fact that he is a strict professor. In relation to the rumours for sexual harassment against female students he refuses the act. He said that during his academic career he developed personal relationships with some students as it often happens. This intimacy from both sides may have been misinterpreted or misunderstood. As the defendant said from what he can recall never a student came to him in order either to recommend a frontistirio or to let the professor know that he is following classes in one.

(News247, 14/10/2018, “‘Professor fakelaki’ confession: Intimacy with the students was misinterpreted”, Sunday Realnews, A. Kandyli and N. Tsilipoudinaki, 14/10/2018, “Intimacy with students was misunderstood”, CNN, 14/10/2018, “Intimacy with the students was misunderstood’ says in his apology professor ‘fakelakis‘).

According to another series of media reports publicized immediately after K.K.’s arrest, complaints against the professor were made many times in the past. It is reported that nearly 30 years ago when he was working as a teaching professor at the TEI of Thessalonikis, he was offering practice placements at his private accounting office to three female students. The 3 students filed complaints to the authorities of the Institution for inappropriate and indecent behaviour of K.K. during their practice. That he blackmailed them in order to work longer hours and to work at his businesses in Chalkidiki or else they would not graduate from the school. They also complained that he made sexual proposals that he would propose older men for them to date, in order to have a rich and comfortable life. The authorities of the Institution attempted to terminate their cooperation with the professor but he refused to leave his position until his contract expired. Then he started working for the TEI of Serres (Proto thema, Romina Xyda and Katerina Faka, 9/10/2018, “28 years of sexual harassments: the… Weinstein of Serres with the wig“, athens magazine, 10/10/2018, “Serres: the ‘sinful’ past of professor ‘Fakelaki’ – New revelations that ‘burn’ him“).

Complaints against professor ‘fakelakis’ were also made 15 years ago by students at the TEI of Serres which were reported and transmitted at the local TV station DIKTYO. This information and the video were now reproduced in the national press and on the internet. In the video students of the TEI of Serres are shown to close the entrance of the institution in order to protest for the behaviour of the professor who, according to the students, was asking from female students to go out with him in order to pass them in his lessons. From male students he called them in his office and asked for money. That incident ended without formal complaints being submitted. There was an informal procedure between K.K. and the students, with the presence of other teaching staff and there was a settlement that this behaviour would stop. On the same video, professor K.K. is denying everything on camera and said that there was no official relevant information forwarded to him by the Institution (Proto Thema, 4/10/2018, “Video: Since 2004 the behaviour of the professor was known to the TEI“, newsroom iefimerida.gr, 4/10/2018 “Professor fakelakis” with the wing – His actions were known since 2004 (video)”.

The first official complaint was made by a co-professor in 2011. He had reported anti-educational behaviour and illegal interference with students’ grading during two exam periods on February 2010. From there on it is reported that a big number of complaints were made by students in a web page. The main complaint was that in order to pass the lessons you had to pay. But no one came forward to make an official complaint. (To Pontiki web, 8/10/2018, “The dirty dialogues of professor “Fakelakis“). One year later, on October 2012, a similar complaint was sent by a student via e-mail to the TEI of Central Macedonia. According to this mail, which was reproduced by the local media after the arrest of K.K., the student complained that he could not pass one lesson that the professor was teaching to get his degree. After many times that he was unsuccessful he gave 1.200 euro to the professor and passed the exams (Elefthero Vima ton Serron, 2/10/2018, “Serres: email of shame for the professor of TEI of Serres on 2012“).

Complaints against the professor were reported on the internet on 2012 and continued until 2015, when anonymous complaints led to a light disciplinary penalty by the President of the TEI of Central Macedonia Dimitris Chasapis (Proto thema, Romina Xyda and Katerina Faka, 9/10/2018, “28 years of sexual harassments: the… Weinstein of Serres with the wig“, Lifo, 2/10/2018, “The TEI professor who asked for “fakelakia” had a past – the complaints for sexual exchanges”).

Following K.K.’s arrest a number of students came forward to the media telling their stories. It is reported that there were about 10 more complaints filed by students. It is not clear from the media reports which stories are old and which are new. A general threat was that they did not put forward official complaints because they wanted to get their degree and didn’t believe something would really come out unless there was a complaint by multiple students (TA NEA, 4/10/2018, “TEI of Serres: New shocking complaints for professor Mr. “fakelakis“).

The modus operandi of the defendants is reported by one 20 year old female student as follows: “I knew what was happening so I went straight to the frontistirio took the exam questions and gave 250 euro. They noted my name and informed the professor that I had given the money. This is how they operated.” She also said that she gave the questions to 3 friends of hers the day before the exams. They all wrote the same answers but only she passed the lesson (To Pontiki web, 8/10/2018, “The dirty dialogues of professor “Fakelakis“).

As regards the academic community, the Rector of the TEI of Central Macedonia Dimitris Chasapis made a public statement on 14 October 2018, according to which there were some rumours about K.K.’s behaviour but never enough evidence. He also said that when K.K.’s file came from the TEI of Thessaloniki it “was clean”; and that those complaints in the last years and the formal complaint by a co-professor could not be backed up with the necessary evidence. This is why the cases were not forwarded for further investigation (Sunday Realnews, A. Kandyli and N. Tsilipoudinaki, 14/10/2018, “Intimacy with students was misunderstood”, To Pontiki web, 8/10/2018, “The dirty dialogues of professor “Fakelakis“).

A few days earlier the Rector declared that the presumption of innocence is not active when it comes to academic duties. He said that they consulted the legal counsel at the office of the Minister of Education who agreed on that line. He went on to say that “we ought to protect the academic environment at this moment and not allow to a man who is accused of all this things to upset our institution. First you prove that you are innocent and then you enter the amphitheatre” (TA NEA, 4/10/2018, “TEI of Serres: New shocking complaints for professor Mr. “fakelakis“).

The former Rector of the TEI and Dean of the Department of Management and Accounting, Dimitris Paschaloudis, said to the media that actions were taken in the past. He said that in 2015 the whole department, professors, secretariat and special technical personnel testified to the President of the Court of First Instance of Serres and provided lists of students who were attending the lessons of professor K.K. and their grades, but that they had no follow up information of the investigation. (TA NEA, 4/10/2018, “TEI of Serres: New shocking complaints for professor Mr. “fakelakis“).

The next wave of publicity came when K.K.’s lawyer, Kougias, applied on 18/12/2018 to the judicial council for the repeal of K.K.’s pre-trial detention. His claims on his appeal against the continuation of the remand detention were widely reproduced by the media.

His lawyer said all 15 students witnesses have testify big lies taking advantage of the fact that the institution does not preserve the answer sheets for over a year. But unfortunately for them they refer to periods of exams when it is obvious from the archive of the secretariat that they never took the exam on the specific dates. Finally, he claimed that the tapes with phone conversations do not reveal any evidence against the owners of the frontistirio and that the Internal Affairs Division had in fact constructed the case (Proto thema, Dimitris Popotas and Aria Kalyva, “‘Professor Fakelakis’ requests release – Kougias: “Bubble Richardos type“, TA NEA, 15/10/2018 , “Professor ‘fakelakis’: What he says in his confession about monetary and sexual exchanges“, TA NEA, 23/12/2018, “TEI of Serres: professor “fakelakis” asks for release“).

Quite detailed information about the application for release became public. It was reported that in the 52 pages long application, it is argued that the whole case was a conspiracy of all against the professor in order to put him in jail. The defendant also argued that all charges are the result of misinformation, rumours and perjury of certain witnesses. He also argues that none from the 22 students’ witnesses claims that he approached them at any time and asked for a present to give them a pass mark or that he threatened them that they would not graduate. And that none testified that he had personal knowledge of the professor taking money from a student directly or indirectly through the frontistirio Mokka-Miloftsi. He also says that the witnesses are in fact students who could not pass the exams and that they had not even participated in any of the exam in some cases.  As regards the big amount of money found in his possession he said it was income from his son accounting office and that he was about to make a deposit to the bank (Proto thema, Dimitris Popotas and Aria Kalyva, “‘Professor Fakelakis’ requests release – Kougias: “Bubble Richardos type“, Aftodioikisi.gr, 8/10/2018 “Kougias for professor “fakelaki”: Publication of his data was illegal”).

The release of K.K. from Nigrita Prison 10 months after his arrest following his application to the Judicial Council, brought the case again at the forefront but was not so widely covered by the media (TA NEA, 1/9/2019, “TEI of Serres: professor ‘fakelakis’ was released”, in.gr, 1/9/2019, “TEI of Serres: professor ‘fakelakis’ was released”, Proto Thema, 1/8/2019, “TEI of Serres scandal: Professor ‘fakelakis’ was released ten months after his arrest”).