Categories: U.S.

Prospective student files lawsuit alleging sexual assault at Virginia Military Institute’s open house event

close Video

Fox News Flash top headlines for September 15

Fox News Flash top headlines are here. Check out what’s clicking on Foxnews.com.

  • A lawsuit filed in a U.S. District Court in Lynchburg alleges that during a 2021 overnight open house at the Virginia Military Institute (VMI), a cadet sexually assaulted a prospective female student.
  • The suit, filed on Thursday, details that the assault occurred when the woman, a high school student interested in attending VMI, shared a room with a cadet host during the two-day open house.
  • The lawsuit claims that VMI’s handling of the case, including deeming her claims unfounded, violated Title IX.

A prospective student claims in a lawsuit that a Virginia Military Institute cadet sexually assaulted her during a 2021 overnight open house.

The suit filed in U.S. District Court in Lynchburg on Thursday states that the woman, then a high school student interested in attending the nation’s oldest state-supported military college, was assigned a cadet host with whom she shared a room, The Roanoke Times reported.

The woman identified as Jane Doe in court records attended a two-day open house, described on VMI’s website as the best way for high school students to “experience first-hand what it’s like being a cadet,” with her parents, who have strong ties to the school, according to the lawsuit. The assault allegedly happened early on Sept. 18, 2021, and later that day after leaving campus with her parents, the student “expressed in an extremely distressed manner” that she had been sexually assaulted, the lawsuit stated. The cadet was not identified by name or sex in the pleading.

The following day, Doe’s father reported the incident to VMI Police and the matter was turned over to the school’s Title IX coordinator. In December, Superintendent Cedric Wins told Doe’s parents that their daughter’s claims had been deemed unfounded but didn’t share any other information, according to the lawsuit.

Doe accuses VMI and its board of visitors of violating Title IX, a federal law that prohibits sexual discrimination against students, prospective students and employees of public schools.

NAVY VETERAN ANNOUNCES BID TO SEEK DEMOCRATIC NOMINATION IN VIRGINIA’S 2ND CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICT

A Virginia lawsuit alleges a sexual assault during the Virginia Military Institute overnight open house. 

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

“The environment in which Jane Doe stayed was dangerous due to VMI’s deliberate indifference of campus safety and Title IX protections,” the lawsuit alleges.

The lawsuit accuses VMI of failing to maintain a safe campus as required by federal law and mishandling Doe’s complaint through the Title IX process. It also alleges that the student and her family were not advised of their rights under the law or provided written statements of the investigation’s finding.

The suit asks a federal judge to grant an injunction requiring the school to abide by all Title IX requirements, but it doesn’t ask for a specific amount of damages. Doe chose not to apply to VMI and suffered economic and emotional harm from the school’s “severe, pervasive and objectively offensive” handling of her case, the lawsuit alleges.

A VMI spokeswoman declined to comment to the newspaper on the case, citing a policy of not discussing pending litigation. Tommy Strelka, a Roanoke attorney who filed the lawsuit, also declined to comment.

In 2021, a state-sanctioned report found VMI failed to address institutional racism and sexism and must be held accountable for making changes.

Share

Recent Posts

‘Bargaining chip’: Trump allies dismantle Liz Warren’s claim GOP blocked childhood cancer research

Conservatives and allies of President-elect Trump are dismantling a narrative put forth by Democratic lawmakers…

1 hour ago

Joe Manchin calls Democratic Party ‘toxic,’ blames progressives

Sen. Joe Manchin, I-W.V., delivered a parting shot to the Democratic Party, calling his former…

1 hour ago

Two US Navy pilots shot down over Red Sea in apparent ‘friendly fire’ incident: US military

close Video US military confirms strikes on Houthi missile storage facility, command center in Yemen…

3 hours ago

Texas Lyft driver says rider slashed his throat, attempted to choke him, stole his car

close Video Fox News Flash top headlines for December 21 Fox News Flash top headlines…

7 hours ago

Florida driver hits student with her truck, covers license plate before fleeing, deputies say

close Video Fox News Flash top headlines for December 21 Fox News Flash top headlines…

7 hours ago

Wife of US hostage Keith Siegel pleads for holiday miracle: ‘we need to get them back’

close Video Wife of American hostage still held in Gaza calls for his and others…

9 hours ago