Matney faces misdemeanor charge for filing false report

The freshman who claimed to have been the victim of a hate crime two weeks ago is now facing a misdemeanor charge for filing a false police report.

Quinn Matney, 19, of Asheville, went to the Department of Public Safety voluntarily Friday, where he was charged and released, said Randy Young, DPS spokesman.

The freshman is scheduled to appear in court May 16 in Hillsborough, Young said.

Matney, who is gay, filed a report with DPS on April 5. The report stated that a man verbally insulted his sexuality on the Craige Residence Hall footbridge before severely burning his arm early in the morning of April 4.

Young said DPS determined April 12 that Matney had lied about the incident. His father later said the injuries were self-inflicted.

Misdemeanor charges like the one facing Matney are usually punished with a community sentence, said Jeff Welty, an assistant professor of public law and government at the UNC School of Government.

David Crescenzo, an attorney with Student Legal Services, said a case like Matney’s will likely result in the student entering into a program of deferred prosecution.

Under deferred prosecution, Matney would be required to perform community service, enroll in an instructional course or both, Crescenzo said.

Matney would then be able to have the charge expunged, removing any record of the case from court records, Crescenzo added.

Matney’s father, David Matney III, said he doesn’t know if his son will accept a program of deferred prosecution if one is offered.

“We’ll do whatever we think is going to work out best for him,” Matney, who is an attorney, said.

He added that his son does not yet have a lawyer.

Welty said that it is impossible to predict what factors the court will consider when deciding Matney’s case.

Winston Crisp, vice chancellor for student affairs, said any discipline from the University will come through the Honor Court.

“The information will be given to the honor system. Whether that will result in charges or any discipline is up to the system,” he said.

Before the report was found to be falsified, the University’s gay community rallied around Matney in a show of support.

Jeff DeLuca, co-president of the Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender, Straight Alliance, said the community continues to stand by Matney.

“We still want to offer Quinn all the support we can,” he said.

David Matney said the publicity surrounding his son has made things more painful.

“It is not fun. It is not pleasant. It makes dealing with the other problems harder,” he said.

Given the volume of publicity, even an expunction would do little to clear Matney’s name, Crescenzo said.

“Obviously, in a case like this, the fact that he did something will be known to people,” he said.

Assistant Editor Jeanna Smialek contributed reporting.

Contact the University Editor at university@dailytarheel.com.