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Attorneys refute MSU's statement regarding alleged rape from 2015

April 12, 2018
Hannah Administration Building on Aug. 29, 2015. Courtney Kendler/The State News
Hannah Administration Building on Aug. 29, 2015. Courtney Kendler/The State News —

The alleged victim's attorneys in the federal lawsuit filed against MSU, Karen Truskowski and Julie A. Jacot, released a statement Thursday afternoon that said Jane Does' "fears were proved true when she read the university's statement in response to her complaint." ESPN's Paula Lavigne first released the statement.

"Our client did not report what happened in the first place because she was afraid of the retaliation if she went forward," the attorneys said in the statement. "Instead of responding to her allegations appropriately, they chose to victimize her all over again in the media."

The two attorneys also said they have documentation which supports the alleged victim's story. They said they will present the documentation in an "appropriate forum at an appropriate time. Not in the media."

This stems from an MSU statement released Wednesday about the Title IX lawsuit against the university, which alleges a then-freshman female student was raped by three former men's basketball players just after the 2015 Final Four.

"Late Monday afternoon, Apr. 9, 2018, MSU was notified that a Jane Doe filed a lawsuit against the university and 'Unidentified Roes' (employees or counselors of the MSU Counseling Center) claiming that she was raped by three unnamed MSU athletes and, when she sought help, the university convinced her not to take her case to the authorities," MSU said in the statement. "The media has taken these allegations about MSU’s response to her assault as established fact. Unfortunately, they are untrue."

Also, according to the lawsuit, the student was not made aware by MSU's Counseling Center, or MSUCC, of several options she could take in regards to reporting the rape.

Instead, the lawsuit alleges Counseling Center staff told the student her options were to file a police report or deal with the aftermath without filing a report. It also alleges the staff told her filing a report would mean facing a battle that would create anxiety, unwanted media attention and publicity.

It also alleges the student was not made aware of her right to a no-contact order and alleges MSU's Sexual Assault Program did not notify her of her Title IX rights, protections and accommodations, even though it is part of protocol.

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