HOUSTON — A lawsuit filed against Baylor University by 10 women alleging they were sexually assaulted while students can proceed, a federal judge ruled Tuesday.
The women, identified as “Jane Doe” plaintiffs, allege Baylor was indifferent to or ignored claims of sexual assault and didn’t enforce federal general discrimination protections.
Baylor had sought to have the lawsuit dismissed, arguing the former students’ allegations were insufficient to state a claim of liability and the women had failed to plausibly allege they were subjected to “further” harassment after reporting their initial sexual assaults.
The university faces several federal lawsuits from women who say Baylor mishandled, ignored or suppressed their claims of assault for years, including several cases involving football players. The school also faces a federal civil rights investigation.
But in an order issued Tuesday, U.S. District Judge Robert Pitman in Austin rejected Baylor’s arguments to completely dismiss the lawsuit.
Pitman wrote that the women had filed their claims alleging that Baylor created a heightened risk of sexual harassment or assault by permitting a “campus condition rife with sexual assault” and by discouraging or mishandling reports of sexual assault within the two-year statute of limitations to do so.
While some of the alleged sexual assaults date back to 2004, their claims for heightened-risk liability didn’t become a legal claim until spring 2016.
