A former University of Arkansas at Fayetteville student has filed a federal lawsuit alleging the school acted with “deliberate indifference” after she reported being raped by another student.
The former student filing the lawsuit told police in October 2014 she was raped in her UA dorm room. The student she accused of assaulting her told authorities the encounter was consensual, and Washington County prosecutors declined to file charges.
The suit claims UA violated Title IX, the federal law prohibiting sex-based discrimination for schools receiving federal funding.
The university’s “deliberate indifference resulted in risks to Plaintiff's safety and the loss of her ability to continue attending" the university, the complaint states.
The woman filed the lawsuit Monday in U.S. District Court in Fayetteville, with the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville and the university’s board of trustees named as defendants.
The complaint also states UA violated a federal law known as the Campus Sexual Violence Elimination Act because a UA disciplinary hearing involving the accused student was not conducted by officials who receive annual training on sexual assault issues and related topics.
The lawsuit states the woman attends weekly therapy sessions “as a result of the sexual assault and actions of the Defendants,” and that she suffered damages including anxiety and emotional distress, expenses from moving and leaving UA, medical bills, the loss of future wages and “the loss of the benefits of a college education.”
Read Wednesday's Arkansas Democrat-Gazette for full details.