Two former University of Texas-Austin students, both of whom have been accused of separate sexual assaults on campus, are suing UT-Austin for expelling them and alleging that the school used them as scapegoats to appear to be more tough on sexual crimes.
The two men, whose names are being withheld, are suing the school to prevent UT-Austin from kicking them out of school. One of the men is 24 and a graduate of Texas, the other is a 21-year-old Senior in his last semester.
According to attorney Brian Roark who represents both men, these two men face no criminal charges and were victims of a University of Texas system that unfairly punishes men. The lawsuit names UT President Gregory L. Fenves and two Texas employees who investigated the different allegations as defendants.
Read their two stories below:
The Story of the 24-Year-Old
According to the lawsuit, the 24-year-old admits that he had sex with a woman around the time of August 31st, 2014. A couple months later in December 2014, he became aware that that woman (“Jane Roe”) had accused him of sexual assault. Austin PD investigated the case and then closed it.
University of Texas investigators then followed up on the police work with some research of their own. Contrary to the findings of the Austin PD, UT-Austin decided that the evidence supported a finding that (he) had sexually assaulted Ms. Roe, the opposite of the conclusion reached by the more experienced detectives of the police department.”
That graduate is now banned from stepping foot on the campus of the University of Texas and from receiving any sort of graduate degree from the school. Their is also a notation on his transcript.
The Story of the 21-Year-Old
The story of the 21-year-old may sound more than familiar to some of you. The 21-year-old “John Doe” admits that he had sexual relations with a woman who was not a UT student back in March 2015.
About a month later, the father of that woman called the school’s police department and accused him of sexually assaulting his daughter. The lawsuit states that even though the woman did text her friend the next day saying:
“I don’t remember throwing up, or coming home, or having this random (expletive) guy in my bed. … I didn’t want this guy. At all. This guy wanted me and got me when I wasn’t conscious.”
The alleged victim’s friend did say that when she left with the guy she was talking, conscious, and had been kissing him.
Cut to November 5th. That’s when the Texas-Austin contacted the male and told him that the dean of students was recommending him for expulsion.
What Does This Mean?
Getting to the bottom of a sexual assault case is never going to be easy, but it’s important that the school protects its students as much as possible.
Yes it’s important that students aren’t sexually assaulted, but it’s similarly important that students aren’t falsely accused and expelled. Why wouldn’t the school involve the police or at least listen to the advice of the police, an entity much more capable of getting to the bottom of a story like this? I’ll tell you. Because they don’t want to drag the name of their school through the mud.
Sadly, the truth of the matter is that sexual assaults do happen on college campuses. For a school to say that they don’t, or pretend that they don’t, is ridiculous. So why not admit that there’s an inherent problem and allow the police to investigate?
