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NY Times, July 19 2014
UConn to Pay $1.3 Million to End Suit on Rape Cases
By TATIANA SCHLOSSBERG
The University of Connecticut will pay $1.28 million to settle a lawsuit
filed by five students who charged that the university had treated their
claims of sexual assault and harassment with indifference, the two sides
announced on Friday in a joint statement.
One of the complainants, Silvana Moccia, a former hockey player at the
university, will receive $900,000. Ms. Moccia charged that she was cut
from the hockey team after reporting her rape to her coach. She joined
the lawsuit in December, a month after it was filed by the other four
women, who will receive payments ranging from $25,000 to $125,000.
The university continues to deny any wrongdoing and defends its policies
of responding to instances of sexual misconduct, but it decided to
settle the lawsuit because “no good would have come from dragging this
out for years as it consumed the time, attention and resources — both
financial and emotional — of everyone involved,” Lawrence D. McHugh, the
chairman of the university’s board of trustees, said in a statement.
In a news conference on Friday, Gloria Allred, the plaintiffs’ counsel,
said the settlement was in the best interest of her clients and of the
university. “We hope that other victims of sexual assault will hear
about the positive results in our case involving UConn and be inspired
and encouraged to report instances of sexual violence and assault,” Ms.
Allred said, adding, “Title IX is there for their protection, and other
universities should follow the law and UConn’s example.”
The lawsuit sought damages for discrimination based on gender and
retaliation in violation of Title IX, which guarantees equal education
opportunities to students regardless of gender. The plaintiffs sued the
university for unspecified monetary damages and changes in the
university’s treatment of allegations of sexual violence and harassment.
In addition to the lawsuit, four of the plaintiffs and three other women
filed a complaint with the Office of Civil Rights at the United States
Department of Education. That investigation will continue, although the
four plaintiffs have withdrawn their complaint to the government.
The women maintain that they do not hold the university responsible for
any of the sexual misconduct, but that they found fault with the way
their cases had been dealt with by members of the university’s staff.
One of the complainants, Kylie Angell, said in the complaint that she
was told by a female campus police officer, “Women have to just stop
spreading their legs like peanut butter,” or rape will “keep on
happening till the cows come home.”
The women said they had been discouraged from reporting sexual attacks
to the police or had not been adequately informed of their legal options.
None of the men accused in the complaint faced criminal charges. One
accused rapist was expelled, but his expulsion was appealed and he was
permitted back on campus.
The university said it had expelled 27 students since 2005 for sexual
misconduct, including 15 in the last five years.
The settlement includes changes to university policy for dealing with
allegations of sexual assault, including a revised training program for
management-level employees in dealing with sexual harassment and sexual
violence; the creation of a position of assistant dean of students for
victim support services; and the formation of a special victims unit
within the university’s police department with officers trained in
responding to sexual violence.
“The lawsuit may have been settled, but the issue of sexual assault on
college campuses has not been,” Susan Herbst, the president of the
university, said in a statement. “Our hearts go out to all victims of
sexual violence. The university has taken positive, important steps in
the battle against sexual assault in recent years, which are described
in the joint statement, but there is still more to be done.”
One of the complainants, Rosemary Richi, will be returning to campus
this fall for her senior year. In a statement delivered at the news
conference, she said she was optimistic that the steps taken in the
settlement would make a difference for other victims of sexual assault.
“I will never forget where we came from and how we got here, but I am so
proud of how far we’ve come,” she said.
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