A former professor at the University of Connecticut (UConn) School of Business was placed on administrative leave and later resigned after he was arrested on charges related to attempted sexual assault.
John Preli was arrested by the Stamford Police Department on April 8, 2026, and was charged with second degree attempted sexual assault and attempting to commit a risk of injury to a child. Preli pleaded not guilty to both charges and was released on a $150,000 bond.
On April 10, UConn Labor Relations Manager Alison Cutler informed Preli that he was being placed on paid administrative leave.
“This leave may continue until the completion of any investigative, disciplinary, and/or other administrative processes related to your recent arrest.” Cutler wrote in a letter notifying Preli of his leave.
“The paid administrative leave is precautionary and without prejudice to your rights under the UConn-AAUP collective bargaining agreement and University policies. The University takes these allegations seriously and expects your full cooperation, including being available to participate in any investigatory or disciplinary processes related to the matters under review.” the letter continued.
On April 28, Preli submitted a letter of resignation, notifying Cutler, the heads of UConn’s School of Business and Finance Department, and the campus dean that his resignation was effective May 1. He also asked for confirmation that his healthcare benefits would be effective through May 31.
Preli was formerly an instructor-in-residence in the Finance Department at UConn’s School of Business, where his research interests included the intersection of finance and technology, enterprise risk management, and distributed ledger technologies, or blockchain. Preli’s profile has since been scrubbed from UConn’s website.
State statute defines second degree sexual assault as sexual intercourse between an individual between 13 and 16 and another individual who is more than three years older, or if one individual is less than 18 years old and the other individual is their guardian, among other imbalances between actors. It may be a Class C felony, or a Class B felony if the victim is under the age of 16. At least nine months of a sentence tied to a conviction of second degree sexual assault cannot be suspended or reduced. Preli is charged with a Class C felony.
Attempt to commit risk of injury is defined as wilfully or unlawfully causing or allowing an individual under the age of 16 “to be placed in such a situation that the life or limb of such child is endangered, the health of such child is likely to be injured or the morals of such child are likely to be impaired, or does any act likely to impair the health or morals of any such child.” It is a Class C felony.
Class B felonies are punishable by one to 20 years in prison and a fine of up to $15,000. Class C felonies are punishable by up to 10 years in prison and a fine of up to $10,000.
OpenPayroll records show Preli has been employed by the school in various roles since 2014. Preli first worked as an adjunct faculty member in 2019 and as an instructor-in-residence in 2022. In total, UConn has paid Preli just under $775,ooo since 2014.
Preli was enrolled in the state’s Alternate Retirement Program (ARP). Unlike the State Employees Retirement System (SERS) plan, ARP vests immediately and does not have a requirement to serve for a particular time period. ARP can be accessed at age 55 for retirees, or with no minimum age for those with less than 10 years of state service.
The employee contribution for ARP is 6.5 percent, or employees can elect to pay 5 percent, and the employer contribution is 6.5 percent of compensation.
According to state payroll records, Preli has paid roughly $97,000 into ARP since 2019. While Preli is over the age of 55, state pension records do not indicate that he has collected any pension payments to date.
Preli was paid just over $47,000 between April 17, after he was placed on leave, and May 15, when he received his final paycheck following his resignation. While Preli’s biweekly pay was around $5,250, his final paycheck was approximately $36,575.
UConn also temporarily reactivated Preli’s employment record to process a $5,639 retroactive pay increase on October 2, which was required to be paid under the school’s collective bargaining agreement.
UConn spokesperson Stephanie Reitz told Inside Investigator that the university did the same for other former employees in the AAUP bargaining agreement who were employed at the time the agreement was adopted and, with the retroactive payments complete, the employment records are again being terminated.
According to court records, the next scheduled court date in Preli’s case is November 2.
Editor’s Note: Sexual misconduct on college campus is a topic Inside Investigator continually covers as part of our ongoing mission to root out corruption. Read our multi-award-winning investigation about sexual misconduct at CSCU here and our follow-up investigation about sexual misconduct at UConn here. If you or someone you know is the victim of sexual misconduct on college campuses, reach out to our team: https://insideinvestigator.org/submit-a-tip/
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