PURDUE’S ‘Sorority Goal’ Girls Have Sex, Then Accuse. Two White Girls Accuse Three Black Males. One Just Settled.
One aspect that is often overlooked in matters of campus sexual assault is the prevalence of white women accusing black men. As America battles with allegations of systemic racism, somehow these campus cases are ignored, even though the men involved receive almost no due process to defend themselves. A recent example of this comes from Purdue University, which recently settled with a black football player who had been accused of sexual assault and denied an opportunity to defend himself.
John Doe filed a lawsuit against Purdue in early 2019, two years after he was expelled from the university after an adjudication process that he says didn’t even follow the school’s outlined policies. Further, John argued racial and gender bias played a role in his expulsion. John’s lawsuit alleges that Jane sat on one of the football player’s laps stated her intent for a threesome. Jane, according to John’s lawsuit, made this statement in front of five students who were present. Later, after the sexual assault allegations were made, all remaining witnesses stated that Jane made such a comment and Jane did not deny it, according to John’s lawsuit.
…John was told that Jane wanted to have sex with him. John entered the bedroom to find Jane and Rachel sitting on the bed. Jane, according to the lawsuit, “immediately” approached John and said, “come here,” before pulling down his shorts and underwear. She began performing oral sex on John. During this time, another girl, Rachel and one of John’s friends engaged in sexual activity. The two women, according to the lawsuit, made comments that they were enjoying themselves and that “this is the best thing we’ve ever done.” After John ejaculated from the oral sex, he says, Jane took off her pants and underwear and told him to have sex with her. John wrote in his lawsuit that he “had become uneasy and did not wish to further engage in any sexual contact” with either of the women, so he left the room to clean himself and return to the main room to watch television. After he left, he alleges, the two women had sexual intercourse with his friend. John’s other friend eventually entered the bedroom to engage in some kind of sexual activity with the women. John says he did not return to the bedroom.At some point, everyone returned to the main room and talked about the events of that evening, with the women allegedly claiming it was a “sorority goal” and again saying it was “the best thing we have ever done.” At that time, John alleges, neither woman expressed any concern about the group sex.
The next day, however, on October 14, 2016, both women contacted the West Lafayette Police Department to claim they had been sexually assaulted. Jane told a detective that she was not intoxicated and was capable of giving consent. She also stated she consented to sex with men at the house but said she did not consent to all of the sexual contact. Jane even stated to police that she had talked about having group sex and voluntarily engaged in it. She did not elaborate on which sexual contact to which she did not consent. Rachel’s statement to the police was similar. John was contacted by the detective to give a statement. He explained what happened and the detective said the women gave similar statements. The detective presented the information he had to the Tippecanoe County Prosecutor’s office, which declined to charge any of the men involved.
Four days later, however, on October 18, 2016, John received a letter from Purdue’s dean of students informing him he had been accused of sexually assaulting Jane. John was informed that he would be immediately suspended from Purdue. On October 26, John met with the dean of students to appeal his suspension, which was granted. On November 4, John attended a meeting with two investigators for the school who, according to John’s lawsuit, “had no relevant experience in investigating allegations of this nature nor had they received adequate training on the due process rights of the accused.”…It wasn’t until February 8, 2017, that John was told a hearing would be held the following week. John was also told he could not present any evidence at the hearing. On February 28, 2017, John was found responsible for sexual assault. He was told the dean of students found Jane “more credible,” but did not explain why. John says that he was not allowed to present any evidence that would undermine Jane’s credibility. John was expelled but appealed. His appeal could not contain new evidence and had to rely only on the evidence presented in the school’s investigative report, which was so heavily redacted “as to render the document nearly illegible.” John was also not allowed to review transcripts of interviews or anything else that informed the report.
John was expelled, removed from the football team, and lost his scholarship. John couldn’t join another football team because Purdue refused to release him. So, John sued, and on July 17, 2020, Purdue filed a notice of settlement to the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Indiana. The details of the settlement are not public, but students in similar situations have received monetary payments that range from a few thousand dollars to nearly one million dollars.
dailywire.com-Ashe Schow
