Another student has come forward accusing Emerson College of mishandling her Boston sexual assault case. The plaintiff, identified in the Massachusetts personal injury lawsuit as Jane Doe, claims that the school and six administrators did not “promptly and appropriately” respond to her assault and that her Title IX rights were violated. The woman is seeking damages for intentional infliction of emotional distress and negligence.
The plaintiff says that she reported the alleged assault, which she says was committed by an Emerson student and an MIT student, in 2012. The Emerson College Police Department, the Cambridge Police Department, and the Boston Police Department conducted investigations. She says she chose not to press charges because a resident director at Emerson suggested that she not.
Now, she is accusing the college of inappropriately handling her case, including breaching her confidentiality by telling her mom and suitemate about the assault without her consent, discouraging her from reporting the fellow Emerson student’s alleged involvement, not making any attempts to transfer that student off her dorm floor, as well as other mishandlings.
In March 2013, Doe claims, her alleged assailants cornered her in an alley and touched her inappropriately-an incident that she reported. Two months later, Emerson College told her that her complaints against the Emerson student for sexual assault, rape, intimidation, and retaliation could not be substantiated by the “preponderance of the evidence.”
The plaintiff says that because of the sexual assault, she has suffered from panic, post-traumatic stress disorder, depression, and anxiety attacks. She claims that this affected her education and at one point she tried to kill herself.
Last August, another plaintiff, Jilian Doherty, also sued Emerson for allegedly mishandling her rape case.
If you or someone you love was the victim of sexual assault on campus you may have grounds for pursing a Boston personal injury case against your assailant. You also may be able to seek damages against your school if they were negligent in handling your case or in holding your attacker accountable for the harm that you suffered. Unfortunately, many campuses continue to mishandle allegations of sexual violence and it is the victims that suffer.
Second lawsuit accuses Emerson of mishandling rape case, BerkeleyBeacon, January 6, 2015
Student sues Emerson College over alleged sexual assault response, BizJournals, January 2, 2015
More Blog Posts:
Judge Says Billerica Man Can Proceed with Boston Child Sex Abuse Lawsuit Against Harvard University, Boston Injury Lawyer Blog, December 16, 2014
Domestic Workers in Massachusetts Soon to Get Employment and Labor Protections, Massachusetts Workers’ Compensation Lawyer Blog, December 27, 2014
Consolidation of Xarelto Injury Lawsuits Gets Opposition from Bayer, Johnson & Johnson, Massachusetts Drug Injury Lawyers Blog, December 5, 2014