UCLA Associate Athletic Director Michael Sondheimer resigned from his position on Thursday following allegations of inappropriate conduct involving a minor.
Sondheimer was placed on administrative leave on June 3, immediately after the university learned of allegations that he had engaged in inappropriate conduct, said UCLA in a statement.
According to a CBS 2 news report, Sondheimer had sent inappropriate messages on the Internet to an individual he believed to be a 13-year-old child. Sondheimer was in fact messaging a decoy from Operation Riptide, an organization dedicated to exposing child predators.
Sondheimer, a 1977 UCLA graduate, had served 36 years as UCLA’s associate athletic director and was heavily involved in on-campus recruiting and issues regarding athlete academics.
“The allegations were unrelated to his job at UCLA and did not involve students or any other employees of the university,” UCLA said in the statement. “The university and its police department simultaneously began a full investigation, which is ongoing.