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Lawsuit that claimed '52 acts of rape' committed at Baylor in four year span settled

Posted at 6:07 PM, Jan 27, 2017
and last updated 2017-09-05 16:55:53-04

A Title IX lawsuit that was filed against Baylor University in Jan. has been settled. 

According to the lawsuit, the victim, known as "Elizabeth Doe" was gang-raped by 2 Baylor football players. Neither player was ever charged with a crime.  

The lawsuit claims Baylor football players committed numerous crimes between 2009 and 2015 and the cause of "widespread culture of sexual violence and abuse of women." 

On Sept. 5, the Associated Press reported that Baylor settled with Doe. 

Terms of the settlement were not released. 

In recruiting, the lawsuit also claims that assistant coach Kendall Briles stated "Do you like white women? Because we have a lot of them at Baylor and they love football players" to a Dallas-area high school athlete. 

Based on an investigation, the lawsuit said that in the span of four years, there were at least 52 acts of rape, five gang rapes, by at least 31 different football players. 

The lawsuit stated that the victim endured sexual harassment for 20 months after being gang-raped. 

Baylor Interim President David E. Garland released the following statement regarding the lawsuit.

“Our hearts go out to any victims of sexual assault. Any assault involving members of our campus community is reprehensible and inexcusable. Baylor University has taken unprecedented actions that have been well-documented in response to the issue of past and alleged sexual assaults involving our campus community. We have made great progress in implementing 105 recommendations to strengthen the safety and security of all students and restore faith in the University, in addition to searching for a new president and the hiring of athletic director Mack Rhoades and head football coach Matt Rhule who reflect the highest levels of character and integrity. Baylor has made a strong commitment to a values-driven culture in accordance with our Christian mission.”

John Clune, one of the attorneys who filed the lawsuit, also released a statement:

"We have been working with Baylor on these football cases since the start of this and though we have appreciated their efforts to fix the problems, this is one that needed to be filed.  As hard as the events at Baylor have been for people to hear, what went on there was much worse than has been reported.  We do still appreciate the progress that Baylor has made and know that the school will be a better place when this case is over."  

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