Update (10/15/15, 11:46 a.m.): This story has been updated to include a statement from Tarleton State University.

Update (10/14/15, 5:22 p.m.): JTAC News received an update from Employee Services stating that Justice resigned from his post as professor, effective June 9, 2015. We are unable to confirm that the resignation was a direct result of the report filed against him. We apologize for any confusion.

Update (10/14/15, 3:20 p.m.): This story has been edited for clarity purposes. JTAC News has reached out to Tarleton Employee Services to confirm the date of Justice’s dismissal.

Former Tarleton State University political science professor Jeff William Justice was dismissed for after violating “Tarleton Policies” and offering alcohol to underage students, and a 9-page witness statement against him has revealed a series of incidents we couldn’t make up if we tried.

A former student in Justice’s class, whose name has been redacted from record, said Justice began messaging him (the social media outlet utilized was redacted) and asking him to join him at his house.

“He would bribed bribe me by saying he had some fresh scotch that I could drink and we could watch sports,” said the statement. According to the witness, his teammates on an unspecified sports team also received messages from Justice. After receiving multiple messages, the witness alleges that he and two other male students agreed in the hopes that “[Justice] would leave [them] alone.”

The witness, who said he was under 21 at the time, declined Justice’s offer of scotch. In their small talk, Justice revealed the real purpose of their visit.

“He [Justice] then began to talk about how his chest was in pain and I asked him from what,” the witness said. “He said that he had done a Sundance ritual the week before and that it did not go the way he had hoped.”

According to the statement, Justice described the ritual as “from the Native Americans where you put stakes through your chest and tie a rope from them to a tree, and hang from the tree and pray to the sun god, who is the ultimate god.”

Apparently Justice had performed the ritual from the age of 13, and wanted to attempt it again that night. After checking the weather several times and making sure his neighbors were asleep, Justice allegedly persuaded the students into assisting him with the ritual. After placing stakes through his own chest, Justice offered to pray for the students, whom the witness said were hesitant and uncomfortable about participating. Justice apparently climbed a stepladder and began to hang by his chest from the tree.

“I stood there in disbelief and speechless about what was happening,” the witness said. “I at first thought it was really weird, but kind of cool and selfless that he was sacrificing his body like that for God. My feelings toward it quickly changed though, because he started asking us how blown away were [sic] we and how cool did we think it was.”

The student said Justice “said he knew we were religious, but that he knew more of how Christ felt.”

Justice then stepped down and chatted with the students for a bit before climbing the ladder again for “round two”. He took the students inside and showed them a clip from a film that featured the Sundance ritual. Afterward, the student alleges, Justice tried to convince the students to try the ritual for themselves.

“He [Justice] then came over to where I was sitting and asked if he could pinch my chest,” the witness stated. “I said sure very hesitantly, and then he felt on my chest and said ‘yeah, the stake would go right through here.’”

The student said he and the other students were in “complete shock” when they finally left Justice’s house. In the days following, Justice apparently continued to message and speak with the student about what they had experienced.

“I would ignore him most of the time,” the student said, “but would respond occasionally because I was scared of him having power [over] my grade.”

Toward the end of the semester, Justice’s grandfather apparently fell ill, and his attempts to reach out to the student increased until the student agreed to visit him.

“I got a guilty conscience and decided I would go over there just to pray with him and let him know I was there for him,” the student said. “…He said not to worry, that we wouldn’t be doing the Sundance again, but asked if I wanted to do it yet.”

However, upon arrival at Justice’s house that evening the student said his intentions were clear.

“When I got there he was sitting on the front porch with his shirt unbuttoned all the way down,” the statement said. “That right away made me feel uneasy.”

The uneasiness grew as Justice allegedly implied that he intended to perform the Sundance ritual again “for [his] grandfather” and that he wanted the student to put the stakes in his chest [for him] this time.

“I quickly said ‘well I’m not putting them in’ and he replied with, ‘well you’re the only other person here’,” the student said. “I told him I could not do that and wasn’t comfortable with it, and he said it was just a leap of faith.”

The student said he texted a friend to call him so he would have an excuse to leave. Justice attempted to persuade him to return later, but the student refused.

“He was taking advantage of my niceness and took advantage of the power that he holds over me,” the student said. Justice allegedly continued messaging the student, singling out a member of his team to join them for the ritual.

“That made me even more freaked out that he was singling individuals out, and that particular individual had no relationship with him at all,” said the witness.

After a few weeks of dodging interaction with his professor, the student said he was forced to speak with him about changing a final exam time. Justice allegedly asked again if the student would like to participate in the ritual, and the student said he would think about it before leaving the classroom.

“After not responding for a while, I saw him [Justice] in Wisdom Gym… he waved at me and I waved back,” the student said. “…He sent me a message a few minutes later saying, ‘After you get done shepherding kids about campus, would you care to watch some [redacted] and moan and groan a bit?’ This message made me feel more uncomfortable then [sic] I had ever been before and I was utterly speechless.”

The student said that, after one final interaction with Justice in which the professor gave him a “side hug” and told him to give him a call if he needed anything, he “didn’t know what to do” so he spoke with another student who had seemed to be friendly with Justice. During their conversation, the witness said he realized Justice had also attempted to involve this student, as well as others, in the Sundance ritual.

“This made me realize that I am not the only one he is doing this to and that it needed to be stopped,” said the student. “I told [redacted] and he relayed it to Human Resources.”

The student and his father reported the incident to Officer Kristie Bint on May 18, 2015. Bint confirmed that Justice “did text Mr. [redacted] and asked to come to this home and hang out so that could [sic] moan and groan together.”

“Mr. [redacted] is worried about how many other students Prof. Justice has tried to get to participate in his praying,” Bint said in her report. “Mr. [redacted] is also worried that Prof. Justice is very involved in boy scouts [sic] and if he has tried this on younger kids.”

According to the report, the student saved all communications with Justice.

“At this time,” the report states, “Prof. Justice has not broken any laws other than offering alcohol to underage students, but has violated Tarleton Policies.”

Attempts by JTAC News to contact Justice for comment were unsuccessful.

Tarleton spokesperson Cecilia Jacobs said on behalf of the university, “Tarleton’s highest priority is the welfare of our students. This is a personnel matter regarding a former faculty member, and the university has no further comment at this time.”