San Jose State University says it won’t disclose any emails related to an investigation into graphic Todd Kress that the university was informed of in October 2024. The university has not issued any public statement addressing the allegations at the time of publication.
Fox News Digital submitted a public records request to SJSU seeking emails related to an investigation of those allegations, but the request was denied.
“SJSU has conducted a reasonable search for these records under California Government Code §7922.535 and has determined the requested records are not disclosable under the Public Records Act,” SJSU attorney Laurette Hanna wrote in a response to Fox News Digital, citing privacy exemptions and attorney-client privilege.Â
The university’s refusal to fulfill a request for the documents comes after Fox News Digital reported last Tuesday on a letter containing allegations against Kress from one of his former players at Fairfield University in 1998, that was sent to SJSU on Oct. 24, 2024, while the volleyball team was embroiled in a season overshadowed by national controversy over the presence of a trans athlete on the team.
The letter’s contents included the allegations that Kress “forcibly threw me on the bed” then “pulled his pants down and put his back side in my face,” and then “picked me up, and threw me into the bathtub where he held me down and threatened to turn on the shower with me laying there.”
“First, the request seeks documents exempt under attorney-client privilege. Additionally, the requested communications implicate substantial privacy interests. Disclosure of these records would therefore constitute an invasion of privacy that outweighs the public interest in disclosure. Specifically, these records are being withheld subject to the following exemptions,” the response added.
“Attorney-Client Privilege. Records subject to the attorney-client privilege and/or attorney work product doctrine. Cal. Govt. Code §7927.705; Cal. Evid. Code §950, et seq., Cal. Code Civ. Pro. §2018.030(a).
“Personnel Records/Privacy. Employee records that include personal information, the release of which would constitute an invasion of personal privacy. Cal. Govt. Code §§7927.700, 7928.300, 7922.000.
“General Privacy Rights. Cal. Govt. Code §7927.705; Cal. Const. Art. 1, §1.
“Balancing Test. Records where the public interest against disclosure outweighs the public interest in disclosure. Cal. Govt. Code §7922.000. Here, the public interest served by disclosure is minimal and is outweighed by the public interest served against disclosure in protecting substantial and significant privacy rights.
“The decision that certain records are exempt and will not be disclosed was made by J. Leah Castella.”
Fox News Digital specifically sought any emails sent or received by former SJSU interim Title IX and Gender Equity Officer Peter Lim, “regarding a letter with a complaint against SJSU volleyball coach Todd Kress from his former Fairfield player [name redacted], and any subsequent investigation of the allegations in the complaint.”
Fox News Digital has since reached back out to SJSU admins, Kress, Lim, Hanna and Castella asking “Why does the university deem the privacy disclosure outweighs the public interest when Kress currently has overseen multiple rosters of young women dating back to the moment the complaint was sent to the University in Oct. 24, and that the university has employed him to actively recruit high school athletes in that time as well?”
But Fox News Digital has not received a response at the time of publication.
 was given copies of emails exchanged between SJSU and the former Fairfield player, from an independently verified
