Student sues Lexington university, says he was in ‘solitary confinement’ after complaint
Transylvania University was sued this week by a student who alleges that he was kicked out of his residence hall without “due process” after another student accused him of sexual misconduct, according to court records.
The person who filed the federal lawsuit, identified only as John Doe, accuses the university of not fully investigating the allegation of misconduct against him and of discriminating against him because he is a male student, according to court records.
In December, the student returned to his dorm with a female student after a party, according to court records. The female student started kissing the male student, who “did not consent to the kissing. At one point, Doe told the female student to leave, but she failed to do so,” the male student alleges in the lawsuit.
When the female student left, she passed the male student’s roommate, according to the lawsuit.
Video evidence shows the lights in the room were on and that the male student’s roommate, who had entered right after the incident, found the lights on and the male student fully clothed, according to the lawsuit.
The next day, the university got an anonymous complaint about what happened from a resident adviser. During the investigation that followed, the female student told the university that the male student had kissed and touched her, according to court records. She claimed “the lights were off in Doe’s dorm room, and that Doe had removed all of his clothing,” according to the lawsuit.
“Immediately after the female student stated she wanted to pursue an investigation, the university evicted Doe from his dorm room based on nothing more than a meritless allegation, and without providing Doe any due process . . . and the opportunity to be heard,” the lawsuit states. “Furthermore, Doe was placed in solitary confinement in a moldy apartment, and was informed that he could not have any visitors without approval from the Title IX office.”
The lawsuit also complained that the apartment where the male student was moved lacked necessary amenities like internet and access to laundry.
After the investigation against him began, the male student lodged his own complaint, saying that the female student was the one who initiated the unwanted kissing, according to the lawsuit.
The lawsuit alleges that the female student’s complaint was investigated for two months and the male student’s complaint was dismissed after two weeks of investigation.
A hearing on the female student’s complaint was set for mid-April, and the lawsuit calls for an injunction to stop the hearing from proceeding.
The male student wants the university to be held liable for compensatory and emotional damages.
The university declined to comment on the ongoing litigation.
This story was originally published April 8, 2020 at 7:47 AM.
