Utah State University is facing a lawsuit by two female rape survivors who alleged the school of not doing enough to protect its students from a former football player.
The students who were raped by Torrey Green, a school football team player, accused the university officials of failing to investigate complaints against Green and expel him from campus, The Salt Lake Tribune reported.
Earlier this year, Green was sentenced to at least 26 years in prison for raping five women and sexually assaulting another one. He used to meet women on the dating app and later invite them to his apartment to eat dinner or watch movies, where he used to force himself on them.
“Neither the University nor the individual defendants properly investigated accusations made against students, or [took] appropriate remedial actions to ensure that all students were afforded equal access to the University’s educational opportunities,” said the lawsuit, which mentions Utah State University, the school’s board of trustees and two USU employees as defendants.
The students further alleged university of not providing resources including health and counseling services to the victims. Both the victims experienced mental health issues including post-traumatic stress disorder as a result of the incident.
It also alleged the university of not properly investigation other cases of sexual misconduct thus fostering “a dangerous environment” of sexual assaults.
Meanwhile, the University’s Associated Vice President of Communications Tim Vitale pointed various inaccurate in the suit but offered the school’s support to victims to reach closure.
“Torrey Green had many victims both at USU and in the community, and the university would like to assist USU students who were victims to reach closure. USU has publicly acknowledged it fell short in several ways in addressing sexual assaults on campus in the Torrey Green case, and we are continuing to address those university-wide systemic problems,” Vitale said in a statement.
“This lawsuit, however, as filed, relies on countless incorrect assumptions, misrepresents how universities are able to address sexual assaults, and contains a number of outright factual errors.”
Last year, a former student alleged professor Dennis Hirst of sexually assaulting her in his apartment, when she was 17 and a freshman. The university hired an attorney from a law firm Parr Brown to investigate Caliendo’s claims.
An earlier investigation had found its four music instructors using sexual violence and psychological abuse against students and promoting a culture of “sexism.”