UConn to pay $1.3M settlement in sexual assault lawsuit

The University of Connecticut will pay nearly $1.3 million to settle a federal lawsuit filed by five women who claimed the school responded to their sexual assault complaints with indifference, the two sides announced Friday.

The bulk of the settlement, $900,000, will go to Silvana Moccia, a former UConn hockey player who joined the Title IX lawsuit last December, a month after it was originally filed by four other women. She alleged she was kicked off the team after reporting she had been raped by a male hockey player in August 2011.

The other four women will receive payments ranging from $25,000 to $125,000.

The school, which has repeatedly defended its policies for responding to sexual assault complaints, did not admit any wrongdoing.

"It was clear to all parties that no good would have come from dragging this out for years as it consumed the time, attention and resources — both financial and emotional — of everyone involved," Larry McHugh, the chairman of the school's board of trustees, told The Associated Press. "In order to do this, compromise was required on both sides, which is reflected in the settlement. I hope this resolution will help the students find closure on this issue."

Gloria Allred, the women's attorney, could not be immediately reached for comment.

The lawsuit alleged discrimination based on gender and retaliation in violation of Title IX, a 1972 law that guarantees equal educational opportunities to students at schools that receive federal funds. It sought unspecified monetary damages and changes in university policies.

The University of Connecticut is among 55 U.S. schools facing lawsuits that contend their policies aimed at preventing sexual violence may be inadequate and a violation of Title IX.

A White House task force released a report in April addressing campus sex crimes, calling on colleges to administer to students anonymous "climate" surveys on sexual assault to determine each school's shortcomings. The task force also launched a new, centralized website, NotAlone.gov, detailing students' federal complaints against at least 55 colleges under Title IX and the Clery Act, data the Department of Education hadn’t previously released.

Sen. Claire McCaskill, D-Mo., along with two other Democrats, Sens. Kirsten Gillibrand of New York and Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut, plans to write new legislation on campus sexual assault later in the summer after three roundtable discussions about sexual assault with advocates and law enforcement hosted by McCaskill. 

At UConn, the U.S. Education Department's Office for Civil Rights began a Title IX investigation in December based on complaints filed by four of the plaintiffs and three other women. That investigation, which could include the loss of federal funds for the school, continues even though these four women have withdrawn their complaint to the Education Department.

School officials said they would continue to cooperate with that investigation.

The two sides issued a joint statement, which includes an acknowledgment by the plaintiffs that "certain UConn employees provided compassionate care and assistance to them" while contending that the response of the school as a whole showed deliberate indifference.

One plaintiff, Kylie Angell, said she was told by a police officer that "women need to stop spreading their legs like peanut butter or rape is going to keep happening until the cows come home."

Angell receives $115,000 in the settlement. Carolyn Luby will get $25,000, Rosemary Richi receives $60,000 and Erica Daniels receives $125,000, according to The Associated Press. AP normally does not release the names of victims in sexual assault cases, but the women have decided to make their names public.

None of the men involved in the complaints ever faced criminal charges. The attacks allegedly occurred between 2010 and 2013, while the women were students at the school.

UConn officials have detailed numerous steps the school has taken to ensure that women can report sexual assaults to police or schools and receive proper guidance and counseling, noting it was the first in the state to adopt a comprehensive sexual assault policy, in 2012.

The school also said it has expelled 27 students since 2005 who have been the subject of sexual misconduct allegations, including 15 in the past five years. The school could not say how many complaints had been filed during that time.

"This lawsuit may have been settled, but the issue of sexual assault on college campuses has not been," said school President Susan Herbst. "Our hearts go out to all victims of sexual violence. The university has taken many positive, important steps in the battle against sexual assault in recent years, which are described in the joint statement, but there is still more to be done."

Al Jazeera and wire services