Human Rights

Parents Of Alleged Rape Victim File Class-Action Lawsuit Against KU

The parents of an alleged rape victim filed a lawsuit against the University of Kansas, claiming it was not honest about the safety of the dorms.

Parents Of Alleged Rape Victim File Class-Action Lawsuit Against KU
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The parents of an alleged rape victim filed a lawsuit against the University of Kansas, claiming they were misled into believing the student housing was safe.

A former KU student says she was assaulted at Jayhawker Towers by a football player in the fall of 2014.  She withdrew from the university in January 2016.

Her parents claim KU lied about the student housing being safe and if they had known otherwise, they wouldn't have let their daughter attend the university.

The victim's mother said in a written statement, "In addition to the horrific assault of our daughter, we are concerned for the safety of all students at KU. We believe there are many more victims of on-campus crimes in the dorms."

The lawsuit reportedly cites eight different alleged sexual assault crimes over three years on KU's campus. Two led to the arrest of football players.

In a statement to the Dallas Morning News, the university called the claims "baseless," saying the claims don't represent the safety of the campus accurately.

After she reported the attack, the victim told the paper she didn't feel welcome on the rowing team. 

She also claims her alleged attacker harassed her on campus and KU's Office of Institutional Opportunity & Access didn't do enough to make her feel safe. Her alleged attacker is still a student at the university.

This video includes images from Getty Images and clips from The University of Kansas.