NORFOLK, Va. (WVEC) — Wednesday marked the first day in the civil trial against Virginia Wesleyan College, which has been accused by a former student of mishandling a reported rape on-campus.
The former VWC student, named Jane Doe in the lawsuit to protect her identity, is suing the school for $10 million after she said she was raped during her freshmen orientation in 2012.
During opening arguments, Doe’s attorney described a horrific scene where a former lacrosse player, under the pseudonym Robert Roe, brought her back to his dorm room and raped her repeatedly for five hours.
Doe’s attorney hammered top school officials for their handling of the case.
Doe reported the alleged assault to the school about five weeks after it happened, but the police were not notified.
Dr. William “Billy” Greer, who was president at the time of the incident, said on the witness stand he was unaware that it was his school’s policy to not inform the school’s head of security about sexual assaults until the end of the school year.
The alleged rape happened in August.
Doe said a peer advisor, a person who helps incoming student’s transition to college life, invited her to an on-campus party before she was raped.
Doe said she took a single shot and felt like she had been drugged.
Dozens of students, including some underage, were at the party drinking and a security guard did nothing to stop it, according to Doe’s attorney.
When Doe’s attorney pressed the former president on whether VWC would knowingly ignore unsanctioned parties where underage students were drinking. Greer said, “We would be foolish, probably even stupid if we looked the other way.”
Attorneys for the college and Roe, who was named as a third-party defendant by the school and was never criminally charged, used opening arguments to attack Doe’s credibility.
The attorney for Roe said Doe had “lied to get money,” referencing her initial claim for damages on the basis the lacrosse player had stolen her virginity. Doe later withdrew that statement that she made under oath.
Doe’s attorney said she has suffered from substance abuse issues and post traumatic stress disorder following her alleged rape.
Roe’s attorneys countered by saying Doe appeared to suffer from split personality disorder.
The civil trial is expected to last until next week.
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http://www.13newsnow.com/news/local/mycity/norfolk/civil-trial-begins-in-virginia-wesleyan-rape-case/201499317