Baylor University has settled a lawsuit filed by a former female student who said she was gang-raped by two football players and alleged the program at the nation’s largest Baptist school fostered a ‘culture of violence’.
The plaintiff known as ‘Elizabeth Doe’ said she had alleged knowledge of at least 52 acts of rape by more than 30 football players over several years at the Waco, Texas, school.
Details of the settlement filed on Tuesday were not released, but it is one of several settlements as Baylor moves to close out lawsuits filed in the aftermath of an investigation into how the school handled reports of sexual and physical assaults for years.
Baylor University (pictured) has settled a lawsuit filed by a former female student who said she was gang-raped by two football players and alleged the program at the nation’s largest Baptist school fostered a ‘culture of violence’
Plaintiff ‘Elizabeth Doe’ alleged that she was raped by then-Baylor football players Tre’Von Armstead (left) and Myke Chatman (right) in April 2013 after an off-campus party. Both are awaiting trial in the incident
Doe alleged she was raped by then-Baylor football players Tre’Von Armstead and Myke Chatman in April 2013 after an off-campus party. Both are awaiting trial in the incident.
Baylor waited two years – until September 2015- to investigate the incident, ESPN reported.
Armstead and Chatman were indicted on three second-degree felony charges of sexual assault by a grand jury in Waco, Texas, earlier this year, and they were arrested and released on bail.
Waco police had suspended the 2013 criminal case after Doe chose not to pursue charges against the players.
Both Armstead and Chatman have maintained that the two did not have sex with the woman.
Doe’s January lawsuit alleged 52 acts of rape, including five gang rapes, in a four-year span at Baylor.
It also claimed that potential recruits visiting the campus would be provided with drugs and alcohol and that football coaches would arrange for women in the Baylor Bruins hostess program to have sex with them.
Both men have denied having sex with Doe. Doe’s January lawsuit alleged 52 acts of rape, including five gang rapes, in a four-year span at Baylor (Pictured, Armstead celebrates after Baylor’s win against the Oklahoma Sooners in November 2014)
Doe’s complaint is the third federal Title IX lawsuit that Baylor officials have settled with women who say they were sexually assaulted while attending the school. An internal investigation led to the firing of former football coach Art Briles (pictured, December 2015) and the departure of former school president Ken Starr
The woman’s complaint is the third federal Title IX lawsuit that Baylor officials have settled with women who say they were sexually assaulted while attending the school.
Baylor has reached financial settlements with three other women who said they were raped before complaints were filed while five other Title IX lawsuits remain pending.
An internal investigation into how the university responded to complaints of sexual assault led to the firing of former football coach Art Briles and the departure of former school president Ken Starr.
Additionally, Armstead was suspended from the football team in fall 2015 and expelled from the school in February 2016 after a Title IX adjudicator found him responsible for sexually assaulting the woman. His appeal was denied.