Ex-student: I was afraid to report sex abuse by Pa. university official

SCRANTON, Pa. -- A man who accuses a former Pennsylvania university administrator of groping him says he didn't report it out of fear he'd be perceived as gay.

The accuser is among three former students who filed a civil rights lawsuit against Isaac Sanders. The lawsuit accuses Sanders of molestation or unwanted sexual touching while the men were students at East Stroudsburg University.

All three accusers and Sanders are black. The man who says Sanders groped him told a jury in Scranton federal court Wednesday that he was raised in a city neighborhood where it wasn't acceptable to report any crime. He says he also feared people would think he wanted Sanders to touch him.

Sanders denies wrongdoing. He has never been charged criminally.

He was fired from university in 2008 following an investigation into his conduct.

Sanders was the Vice President for University Advancement, reports CBS affiliate WYOU. Students claim other officials at the school knew about the alleged abuse but covered it up, the station reported.