Suit claims Brown mishandled Title IX case, names former lacrosse player for alleged rape

The lawsuit accuses the university of failing “to take adequate measures to end plaintiff’s harassment and ensure her safety.”

Brown University in Providence, R.I.Jonathan Wiggs/Globe Staff

PROVIDENCE — A Brown University student has filed a lawsuit against the college, alleging it mishandled her Title IX complaint accusing a former men’s lacrosse player at the school of raping her in October 2021.

The plaintiff, an undergraduate student identified by the pseudonym Jane Doe, claimed that after she reported the alleged sexual assault in the fall of 2021, she became the subject of “repeated harassment on campus” by her abuser, other Brown students, players and staff members of Brown’s men’s lacrosse team, and other university employees.

The lawsuit, filed in US District Court, accuses the university of failing “to take adequate measures to end plaintiff’s harassment and ensure her safety.” A second defendant, the former lacrosse player, was also named in the suit.

The court sealed the complaint on Monday night, hours after it was filed in court, in response to an emergency motion filed by the former athlete’s lawyer.

Doe alleged that the former student, who has since graduated, raped her on Oct. 30, 2021, at a residence occupied by “multiple male members” of Brown’s men’s lacrosse team. The residence, court filings said, is “well known among Brown students and employees as the ‘Senior Lacrosse House.’” Doe said she first reported the alleged assault to the university on Nov. 4, 2021, before filing a complaint with Brown’s Title IX Office on Nov. 5, 2021.

Brown spokesman Brian Clark said the university disputes Doe’s claims that it mishandled her Title IX complaint. The school, Clark said, immediately launched an investigation when she reported the incident.

After the school’s investigation, the student accused of rape was suspended from campus, which included a two-year ban from campus. However, the student filed a suit against Brown in federal court, claiming that he had been unfairly suspended. He accused Brown and a third-party investigator of discrimination, negligence, and emotional distress, as well as other violations.

The court ruled in favor of the accused student “over Brown’s strong objection,” Clark told the Globe in an email Thursday. The student was allowed to return to classes and resume athletic activities, and the university was prohibited from moving forward with any additional disciplinary actions. The accused student graduated from Brown in 2022. His attorney, J. Richard Ratcliffe of Ratcliffe Harten Galamaga LLP in Providence, did not respond to the Globe’s repeated request for comment on Thursday.

Court documents allege that the former lacrosse player shared explicit images of Doe with other members of the lacrosse team. Teammates responded with jokes about the defendant’s actions, according to the documents.

“We do believe there continues to be a systemic problem at Brown, and how the Title IX office operates in its handling sexual assault complaints,” said Irene R. Lax of Grant & Eisenhofer in New York, who is one of the attorneys representing Doe, on a call with the Globe Thursday.

More than 200 Brown University students marched in April 2021 to the university president's home, where organizers presented a list of demands, asking the administration to take a tough stand on sexual assault.Lola Hakim/Handout

Brown has been under fire in recent years over its handling of sexual assault cases.

In April 2021, more than 200 students decked out in shades of pink marched to university president Christina Paxson’s home on College Hill and demanded the administration take a tougher stand against sexual violence on campus. But it wasn’t the first protest against sexual violence at Brown. In 1985, survivors wrote the names of their perpetrators on the library bathroom walls.

In August 2021, four women — who, at the time, were current or recent students at Brown — filed a federal class-action complaint against the university, alleging it has systematically and repeatedly failed to protect women from harm, including rape, and that sexual assault at Brown is an “epidemic.” The courts broke the class action up into their own cases, and five suits tied to the initial complaint are still pending.

In 2019, Brown released survey data on campus-based sexual assault and misconduct. Of the 3,100 students surveyed, one-quarter of undergraduate women reported receiving nonconsensual sexual contact while at Brown. But more than 48 percent of all students reported experiencing at least one type of offensive or inappropriate behavior of a sexual nature.

Lax, who is also helping represent some of the plaintiffs in these cases, said Brown is a “hostile environment” for those who report sexual assault. “And we seek for them to have a non-hostile environment at Brown,” she said.

On Thursday, Clark said Brown “takes very seriously the guidance and support we provide to students involved in reports of sexual violence.” The university has taken a “wide range of actions” to encourage a culture where community members intervene to prevent sexual misconduct, provide support and resources, report misconduct, seek assistance, and trust in a fair, impartial process to resolve complaints,” he said.

“Every element of Brown’s approach to preventing and responding to incidents of sexual violence is based on the reality that incidents of sexual harassment and violence is a serious national issue, not only at colleges and universities, but in communities across the country,” said Clark.

Steven M. Richard of Nixon Peabody LLP in Providence, who has represented the university in numerous cases, has until Oct. 18 to respond to the suit.