In a statement published on Wednesday, the university acknowledged that the accused student, Gilang, had committed sexual assault on the victims.

Prior to his expulsion, the Unair rector, Mohammad Nasih, and its ethics committee had conducted an online meeting with Gilang's family, in which the latter admitted his actions and expressed regret.

The case, which gained public attention after several first-person accounts of the allegations made the rounds on Twitter, had tarnished the university's reputation, said the rector.

"We think this case [involving] G has caused immense damage to Unair's reputation as a state university that upholds excellence with moral values," Nasih said, referring to Gilang by his initial, in a statement posted on Unair's official website.

Last week, multiple victims had taken to Twitter to share their accounts of being tricked by Gilang, who was enrolled at Unair's School of Cultural Sciences, into performing sexual mummification acts.

One user with the handle @m_fikris wrote that he and his friend agreed to participate in Gilang's thesis "research" about "wrapping" in July after Gilang persistently begged him, saying he was at risk of failing his studies for not finishing his thesis. Gilang was in his fifth year of university.

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