GOOD: Federal Judge Allows Clark Student’s Lawsuit To Continue In Sex Exploitation Case
A federal judge has allowed a Clark student’s lawsuit against a female student who allegedly accused him of sexual assault to continue. John Doe, who was a freshman at Clark last year, filed his lawsuit against his accuser, Jane Smith, as well as the university and several of its employees in U.S. District Court in Worcester in April.
Doe accuses Smith of falsely accusing him of removing his condom during sex, and the university of bias in its handling of the case. Specifically, Doe alleges that Clark, which ultimately found him guilty and punished him for “sexual exploitation,” according to his original complaint, is prejudiced against male students in sexual offense allegations. Jane Smith however, argued in response that Doe’s legal action amounted to a “SLAPP” suit – short for “strategic litigation against public participation” – intended to intimidate an alleged victim of sexual assault. She moved for the court to dismiss his case in August.
In Wednesday’s ruling on that motion, District Judge Timothy S. Hillman opted not to rule yet in the case whether Doe’s lawsuit did constitute a SLAPP, nor did he give an opinion on whether Smith’s statements to Clark staff regarding the incident with Doe could be considered privileged information.But Hillman disagreed with Smith’s claim that Doe had no standing to plead defamation in the case, arguing Smith’s reporting of their alleged encounter, and his insistence that he did not remove the condom, met the legal standard. He also disagreed with Smith’s contention that Doe hadn’t submitted proof of economic loss from the incident, saying Doe didn’t have to in the case because he had been accused of the “well-known crime” of sexual assault.
telegram.com-Scott O’Connell
