By Catholics for Catholics
In a striking turn of events, a man who was accused of sexual assault was declared falsely accused by a Maryland jury, in what may turn out to be a landmark decision for college campuses.
The man, a college student, contended that he was also the victim of sex-based harassment, according to a story by the Daily Wire.
Late last month, the student nabbed a major victory for due process and equal rights after a federal jury found the University of Maryland did not protect him from relentless harassment after he was falsely accused and finally cleared through the school’s own Title IX process.
In addition, the ruling marks the first time that a jury has ever found that false sexual assault accusations can be considered sex-based harassment, according to the man’s attorney, Jason Greaves of the Binnall Law Group.
“This is the first case where a jury has found that false accusations of rape can constitute sexual harassment, and the first time a university has been found liable for deliberate indifference to that harassment,” Greaves told The Daily Wire. “This case is a landmark for falsely accused men in universities.”
Identified only as John Doe in the federal lawsuit examined by the Wire, the jury sided with the falsely accused student who accused the University of Maryland of not protecting him from vindictive harassment, including a student-led smear campaign, after he was fully cleared from the female student’s allegations.
Paula Xinis, an Obama-appointed judge, heard the case and the jury found evidence that falsely accused man faced harassment that was “so severe, pervasive, and objectively offensive that it deprived him of equal access to an educational opportunity or benefit at the University of Maryland.” It also found that the University of Maryland “was deliberately indifferent to the harassment.”
The ruling, according to the Wire, is especially relevant in light of the so-called “Cornell 7” case, where seven males at Cornell University are accused of being implicated in drugging and gang raping a female student. All the males, who say they are innocent, were punished by the university in various capacities, with the harshest punishment including expulsion.
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