By Lacey Bitter
The University of Portland is being sued for at least the second time in less than a year for allegations of negligence in two separate sexual assault cases.
A former 16-year-old freshman UP student filed a lawsuit against the University last week, in which she requests more than $1.5 million in damages. The former student is also suing her alleged rapist, who is also a former UP student, and three male UP students she claims defamed her through Facebook.
University officials declined to comment on the case.
"Because it's an ongoing case, I'm not at liberty to speak about it," said John Goldrick, vice president for Enrollment Management and Student Life.
Similarly, the plaintiff's attorney declined comment.
The plaintiff, who is named with a pseudonym in the court files because she is a minor, says that she was sexually assaulted in fall 2007. In her filing, the plaintiff acknowledges that she was intoxicated at the time, while the alleged rapist was sober.
The former student reported the crime to Public Safety in February 2008 and two days later reported it to a member of the Congregation of Holy Cross on campus, according to the suit. The student blames the school for not reporting to the police and state that she was sexually assaulted.
Detective Mary Wheat of the Portland Police Bureau told The Beacon that police met with the girl and her mother but decided against pursuing an investigation. Wheat said that she could not elaborate further because the plaintiff is a minor and the case involves claims of sexual assault.
"When you're dealing with a juvenile victim and sexual assault together we're really protective," Wheat said.
The detective said the police can decline to pursue investigation in cases like this for several reasons, including the lack of evidence and the passing of too much time between when a person reports an incident and the incident itself. Wheat also said a decision by police not to pursue an investigation does not necessarily mean a crime didn't occur.
This case is unrelated to a lawsuit against the University that The Beacon disclosed earlier this semester, which was filed by former UP student Amy Kerns. Kerns alleges that a male UP student raped her in her dorm room in April 2006 and is suing the University for negligence, saying the school failed to provide a safe living environment that was secure from rapists.
The plaintiff's claims of negligence in this case, however, center on her allegations that the University should have reported an assault to government officials. According to Oregon state law, an institution must report an alleged sexual assault involving a minor to the police or the Department of Human Services. In addition, she claims the University failed to notify her parents of the assault, that school officials did not remove the alleged rapist from the University, and that they did not facilitate appropriate mental health counseling or emotional support.
The student was punished for drinking underage and was "blamed" for the sexual assault, according to the suit
The current case also involves alleged defamation via Facebook. The student alleges that on Feb. 27, 2008, she saw a photograph posted on the social networking site depicting her with a group of people. Most of the people in the photo were identified by name, but in the caption she was identified derogatorily.
According to the suit, the student then posted a comment inquiring who had written the caption, to which three male UP students responded with an onslaught of comments using words such as "nasty," "slut" and much worse.
The next day the student went to Public Safety to report the incident, according to the suit.
The plaintiff is also requesting more than $1 million from the man she said raped her as well as a total of more than $600,000 from the male students she accuses of defaming her on Facebook.
The Beacon's policy is not to identify people by name if the police do not charge them in a crime.
Survivors of sexual assault on campus have many options in reporting the crime, according to Natalie Shank, assistant director of Residence Life, who also serves as the University's judicial coordinator.
Survivors may report sexual assault to anyone from a coach to a Resident Assistant to Public Safety or go directly to the Portland Police Bureau, Shank said. The judicial coordinator also said the University seeks to help a survivor in any way possible. The University can help a student through the process of contacting the police if the person prefers, but does not require that the police be notified.
"We treat all students the same," Shank said. "This process would apply to anybody."
Shank said that in special circumstances, such as if the assault involves a minor, she would contact the University's Risk Manager, Public Safety Director Harold Burke-Sivers, who would then take appropriate actions to see what steps need to be taken to report the crime, if that is necessary.
