Sex assault lawsuit against Boise State to go to trial

BOISE, Idaho (AP) - A 4th District Court judge will allow two former female athletes’ lawsuit against Boise State University to go to trial.

The two former students sued the school in 2014, alleging athletic officials ignored their reports of sexual assault and harassment by a star athlete.

The women are represented by attorney Gloria Allred, who has handled similar lawsuits in several other states. They contend that multiple Boise State University athletic officials knew the athlete who abused them had a record of serially harassing and assaulting fellow students, and that the school’s failure to take action spurred the athlete to continue the behavior.

The Idaho Statesman (https://bit.ly/1i1GBMT ) reports that Judge Steven Hippler denied BSU’s request for summary judgment in a 36-page ruling on Thursday.

One of the plaintiffs “raised evidence that her report of the rape was largely ignored and she was left unsupported and forced to fearfully co-exist with (the male athlete) on a daily basis,” Hippler wrote.

“We are very gratified by the judge’s decision and we look forward to presenting our case to a jury on Jan. 5, 2016,” Allred said in a written statement to the Statesman on Thursday.

The Associated Press typically does not identify victims of sexual assault. The lawsuit doesn’t identify the athlete the women say committed the assaults other than to call him a “men’s star track and field athlete.”

According to court documents, the university began investigating the allegations of sexual misconduct after receiving a 2013 email from an anonymous “concerned parent.” The report’s findings included that three track coaches were aware that the star male athlete was known as a “skirt chaser,” complaints filed by three female student-athletes were not forwarded to the university for investigation, and a male athlete tried to silence a female athlete from reporting a complaint.

Court documents also show that at least one track coach told the head coach J.W. Hardy that the star male athlete should be kicked off the team.

Eventually, the athlete was kicked off the team and BSU did not renew Hardy’s contract.

Both women suing the school were freshmen in 2011, recruited by Hardy and awarded scholarships.

The lawsuit accuses BSU of violating the federal law designed to protect against discrimination in education: Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972. Universities that receive federal funds have an obligation under Title IX to take steps to prevent sexual harassment and stop it when it occurs.

Defense attorneys have argued that even if Hardy knew about the rape accusation, it doesn’t equate to the university also having “actual knowledge,” a stipulation that must be met for Title IX actions. They say that Hardy didn’t have the authority to take corrective measures.

“A jury may find that these powers would be sufficient to end or control the harassment, depending on the degree of harassment the jury believes occurred,” Hippler wrote. “Consequently, it cannot be held as a matter of law that Coach Hardy was not an appropriate person to impute actual knowledge of the harassment to BSU.”