A former Southern Arkansas University student is suing the school in a Texarkana federal court for the alleged mishandling of a sexual assault complaint in 2015.
The complaint, filed Tuesday in the Texarkana Division of the Western District of Arkansas by Rogers, Ark., lawyer George Rozzell, accuses SAU and its board of directors of violating the student's civil rights and of violating her rights under Title IX of the federal Education Amendments Act.
Rozzell declined to comment beyond the complaint. SAU Director of Creative Services Aaron Street said the university does not comment on pending litigation.
"However, SAU has Title IX policies and practices in place that are fair and consistent to protect our students. These policies and procedures are communicated to our students multiple times in numerous forms and are located on our website," Street said.
According to the complaint, the female student was engaged in consensual sexual activity with a male student in his room in SAU's honors dorm during finals week of December 2015 when the male student's roommate entered the room and didn't leave. The female student alleges the roommate disrobed and appeared to be in a state of arousal when he reached out and groped the female student.
After verbally protesting, the female student alleges she fled and later reported the assault. The student alleges that the two male students conspired to sexually assault her. One of the students was suspended from school for one year though the other faced no consequences, according to the complaint.
The female student alleges the school's police chief told her there was no sexual assault because she hadn't been penetrated and administrators at the school allegedly mishandled the investigation of her complaint in violation of federal law.
The student alleges that the school's failures led her to feel unsafe and in January 2016 she transferred to another university. The female student is seeking actual damages, punitive damages, attorney fees and court costs.
The case has been assigned to U.S. District Judge Susan Hickey.