Miltenberg: “Dickinson College Accused of Title IX Violations Over Its Handling of Sexual Assault Allegations,” Fox 43

A federal lawsuit filed by a graduate of Dickinson College states that the school destroys evidence during Title IX proceedings. A graduate of Dickinson College is suing the school over its investigation into her 2017 report of sexual assault. According to the federal lawsuit, the college destroys case evidence and ignores reporting requirements. Rose McAvoy said Dickinson College failed to properly investigate her case in a timely manner. She filed a Title IX complaint shortly after the assault and the school delayed the investigation, she said in the suit. Title IX refers to the federal law that prevents all forms of sex discrimination in education. Dickinson’s Title IX Policies and Procedures said that all cases should be completed within 60 days. Dickinson took seven months to complete McAvoy’s Title IX case. Her attacker was found guilty of sexual assault in May 2018 and was placed on probation for one semester. A spokesperson for Dickinson College said they take sexual assault cases very seriously. “We do more than follow the law on Title IX, we work diligently with those involved to reach a fair and equitable resolution of these cases,” said Christine Baksi, Dickinson’s director of media relations. The lawsuit states that Dickinson continues to destroy evidence during Title IX proceedings. Recordings of interviews conducted during the college’s investigations are destroyed before the conclusion of an investigation, according to the suit. Nearly half of the 40-page transcript from McAvoy’s Title IX case was fully redacted, despite the college stating they would only redact personally identifiable information. “It’s not just my story. I’ve literally heard the same thing from so many other students at Dickinson. It’s uncanny. It’s insane and not everybody is in a position where they can get justice for their case, so I feel like I have to in order to ensure that this doesn’t keep happening,” said McAvoy.

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