Students

Accused Sexual Assault Perpetrator Sues Amherst College for Subjecting Him to Double Jeopardy in Five-Year-Old Case

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An unnamed Amherst College student is suing the school for withholding his degree amidst five-year-old allegations that he sexually assaulted another student.

According to the Huffington Post, the man only identified himself as "John Doe" on the lawsuit he filed last month in the U.S. District Court in Springfield, Mass. He was supposed to be a part of the 2014 graduating class, but the school apparently began investigating a sexual assault he was accused of committing five years ago.

Doe's former roommate and sexual assault accuser told the HP he did not intend to make his report public. Now that Doe has filed a lawsuit against Amherst, the school has submitted its 2014 investigation documents to the court.

"If you are anyone from the class of 2013, you know him, and you know I was his roommate freshman year," the roommate, speaking on the condition of anonymity, told the HP. "It's sort of what I was trying to avoid."

Investigation notes submitted to the court show that Doe told authorities that he did not know for sure if his roommate consented or not. When the roommate "did not show signs of resisting," Doe proceeded with sexual contact. However, the roommate claims he told Doe that night he did not want to have sex.

The night in question - Dec. 19, 2009 - Doe climbed into his roommate's bed early that morning. He later told investigators had as many as nine drinks beforehand and as little as seven. The Amherst investigator reported in 2014 that the roommate said Doe made multiple sexual advances in 2009 before the assault.

Court documents showed that Dean Allen Hart ruled in 2010 that Doe should be placed on a medical leave, citing "alcohol use" and "deeper personal issues," the HP reported. Hart also stated that Doe was involved in "multiple episodes of improper, non-consensual personal contact with other students."

The medical leave was imposed as an alternative to "a disciplinary suspension." However, when Doe returned to school, Hart issued him a letter stating the student could face "further disciplinary action" if he broke the student conduct code.

Doe argues in his lawsuit that he is facing double jeopardy since the medical leave and the probation Amherst placed him under was supposed to be a form of discipline. The school also took away Doe's job, which could put him at risk of being deported since he is from South Africa.

Doe wants an injunction to stop the school from pursuing disciplinary action against him.

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