Four male students accused of sexually assaulting a female William Paterson University student are suing the school over their expulsions.
The four students, along with a fifth who has not filed a lawsuit, are alleging their civil rights were violated, they were falsely arrested and maliciously prosecuted after campus police failed to properly investigate the sexual assault accusation against them.
Michael Epstein, an attorney for two of the accused students, said that the accused and accuser were on good terms after the sexual encounter and that police arrested his clients “based on the accuser’s report alone.” He said campus police didn’t interview other witnesses or seek cellphone records or surveillance video. They also didn’t assemble a rape kit to collect the physical evidence.
The five students were arrested and charged with aggravated sexual assault, conspiracy to commit sexual assault, criminal restraint and kidnapping. A grand jury refused to indict and the charges were dismissed, yet the school still expelled them.
Ron Ricci, an attorney for the other two students who are suing, said he and other defense attorneys provided the prosecutor with evidence, and that the prosecutor “presented the case honestly” to the grand jury, which led to the dismissal. Ricci added that the facts showed there was no sexual assault.
Ricci also said school officials made “damaging statements” after the accusation that implied a guilty-until-proven-innocent mentality. For example, WPU President Kathleen Waldron said she was “angry and dismayed that this crime was committed on our campus and allegedly by students.”
Ricci said the accused students were not granted a hearing before being expelled. Another defense attorney said the students received only a letter that they were banned from campus but would receive a hearing.
A North Jersey paper, the Record, reported that students on campus offered support to the accused and even attended their hearing in Superior Court. “I knew they would come out innocent; the truth always comes out,” said one female student who supported the accused.
“Saw it coming,” said a friend of the accused students. “Justice was definitely served.”
The five accused students were part of a state program known as the Educational Opportunity Fund, which helps low-income students pay for the university. Even if the expulsion of these students is lifted, they likely won’t be able to return to the university because their funding assistance will no longer be available.
