Two students of Kansas State University are taking legal action against the school, claiming it ignored their sexual assault complaints. The students filed the lawsuit case on Wednesday in a federal court in Kansas.
According to Reuters, the two plaintiffs, accused Kansas State University of violating Title IX, a civil rights statute prohibiting discrimination on the basis of sex in education, by failing to respond to their complaints of rape. They claimed the university declined to investigate their rape complaints as the fraternities involved are outside the campus.
Kansas State said they would not disclosed information regarding litigation matters in the public or even individual reports of discrimination, such as "sexual violence." However, it said on the issued statement, they have a "strong policy" prohibiting the said misconducts and "provides a multitude of resources and assistance to students and employees," it said.
The plaintiffs, who were named Sara Weckhorst and Tessa Farmer, both 21 years old in New York Times, reported, the raped incident happened in 2014 and 2015 in two separate fraternity houses outside the university. Weckhorst's sexual assault complaint stated she was drunk at a party hosted by the fraternity, which the source alleges, Sigma Nu.
The Doylestown student claimed a male fraternity member raped her on a truck in April 2014, as other student filmed and took pictures of the assault. Her lawsuit also claimed, she was repeatedly sexually assaulted in a fraternity "sleep room," and in the fraternity house by two members.
On the second sexual assault case of Farmer from Overland Park, her complaint alleges, she was also rape during a fraternity party, when she passed out intoxicated on March 2015. According to Kansas City Star, Farmer claimed she was sexually assaulted by a member of Phi Delta Theta fraternity. Both fraternity groups were not named on the lawsuits.
Kansas State is under investigation by the U.S. Department of Education over its refusal to investigate the alleged attacks on the two women and on other fraternity rape victims, the lawsuits said.
