Two bits of news emerged out of Baylor late Monday night.
The school announced — at 11:49 p.m. local time — that Patty Crawford, the school’s Title IX coordinator has resigned.
The school said Crawford, who became Baylor’s first-ever full-time Title IX coordinator in November 2014, “was disappointed in her role in implementing the recommendations that resulted from the Pepper Hamilton investigation,” an independent look into the handling of sexual assault accusations involving students, including several football players.
“The University is grateful for Patty’s leadership in establishing fair and equitable Title IX processes that are also supportive of the needs of survivors,” Baylor said in a statement. “We will always seek to continuously improve and are confident that the very capable Title IX staff will continue the important work of educating, supporting and responding to the needs of those impacted by interpersonal violence.”
The news of resignation came hours after two women who said they were sexually assaulted at Baylor were added to a Title IX civil rights lawsuit against the school. Per the Waco Tribune, the women, known in the suit as Jane Doe 7 and Jane Doe 8, say Baylor “failed to adequately investigate their cases.”
One of the women, Jane Doe 7 says she was raped by two Baylor students in May 2009.
She reported the incident to a neighbor, who was a Baylor employee, and a physician, who performed a rape examination, the lawsuit states. The examination confirmed that forcible sexual intercourse occurred, the lawsuit alleges. The suit does not specify the location of the attack.
In the following week, Doe 7 reported the incident to Student Services, a professor and the Baylor counseling center, the lawsuit says, and she informed the director of counseling services of all details of the assault. According to the lawsuit, Doe 7 was never informed of services Baylor could provide.
“One professor told Jane Doe 7 that her sexual assault was not really assault,” the lawsuit states, and she then performed poorly on exams, lost her scholarships and retook the failed courses, which added about $25,000 to her student debt. Doe 7 also encountered the assailants daily for two years at Baylor, the lawsuit says, and she had to pay for ongoing counseling after using the 10 free sessions Baylor allotted.
Jane Doe 8 says she was sexually assaulted by a Baylor student in March 2015.
From the Tribune:
After reporting the incident to a friend and a roommate, the roommate reported to a professor, who reported to the Title IX office. The Title IX office emailed Doe 8, telling her she had the right to report, but did not inform her of her rights or remedies and did not perform an investigation, the lawsuit alleges.
In June 2015, she was not scheduled an appointment with Baylor’s counseling center, despite her informing the center of her assault, according to the lawsuit. After reporting to a professor, Doe 8 was directed to counseling at the Student Life Center, which referred her to outside counseling, the lawsuit states, and during this time the assailant became a Baylor employee.
Doe 8 then had meetings with the Title IX office, the Baylor Police Department and Human Resources, the lawsuit says. BUPD told Doe 8 she did not have a claim and discouraged her from pursuing claims, Human Resources did not inform her of options while accommodating the assailant, and the Title IX office misinformed her of rights and options and discouraged her from requesting a traditional Title IX hearing, the lawsuit alleges.
Pepper Hamilton, a Philadelphia-based law firm, conducted a nine-month investigation of Baylor’s handling of sexual assault accusations and presented its findings to Baylor’s Board of Regents in May. In a summary of Pepper Hamilton’s findings, Baylor’s Board said the firm concluded that “student conduct processes were wholly inadequate to consistently provide a prompt and equitable response under Title IX” and that “Baylor failed to consistently support complainants through the provision of interim measures; and in some cases, the University failed to take action to identify and eliminate a potential hostile environment, prevent its recurrence or address its effects.”
As a result, the firm presented 105 recommendations “focused on improving Baylor’s prevention and response to sexual violence.” Baylor accepted the recommendations and put together a “task force.” Crawford was a member of the “Sexual Assault Task Force.”
The fallout from the investigation led to the removal of president Ken Starr, head football coach Art Briles and the resignation of athletic director Ian McCaw.
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Sam Cooper is a writer for the Yahoo Sports blogs. Have a tip? Email him or follow him on Twitter!
