University upholds suspension of Columbus High grad over bathroom photo

The University of North Georgia has upheld the suspension of Columbus High graduate Dante Harris after he took an embarrassing photo of a military instructor, according to a report from the Atlanta-Journal Constitution.

The 21-year-old had appealed the suspension and asked to be allowed to enroll for the fall.

Harris could appeal the university’s decision to the Board of Regents, which governs Georgia’s public colleges and universities, but he will not do that, said Amber Massey, a Columbus woman who has served as Harris’ mentor.

The suspension should not impact a full scholarship Harris received from the Georgia National Guard, Massey said. The scholarship is valued at $70,000. Harris is currently training with the National Guard in Louisiana.

He will get a job when he returns from camp, Massey said.

Harris will sit out summer and fall semesters and will be eligible to return in the spring semester of 2018. He originally faced two years of suspension and criminal charges, including unlawful eavesdropping or surveillance, a felony, and transmission of photography depicting nudity.

“We will concentrate on the criminal charges,” Massey said on Tuesday.

Harris has hired criminal defense attorney Jeffrey L. Wolff of Dahlonega, Ga., to handle his case.

If found guilty, Harris could up to six years in prison.

Harris was accused of snapping an embarrassing photo of Maj. Richard Neikirk, an instructor at the school. The photo shows Neikirk standing at a urinal with his pants pulled down. Harris forwarded the photo to three friends, who then shared it with hundreds more people, the AJC reported.

Massey first got involved in Harris’s life back during his senior year at Columbus High School, when she found out that he was homeless. She helped him finish his senior year before discovering a $70,000 Georgia National Guard scholarship to the University of North Georgia that would allow him to attend college at no cost.

This story was originally published June 13, 2017 at 2:36 PM with the headline "University upholds suspension of Columbus High grad over bathroom photo."