Sexual assault is a famously underprosecuted crime, yet not only did local law enforcement officials move forward with the case, they successfully charged and convicted Ukwuachu.
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In 2015, former football player Sam Ukwuachu was convicted of sexually assaulting a Baylor athlete. The case brought scrutiny to Baylor University and the way that the school handles sexual assault cases.
Richard Willis, the outgoing chairman of the board of regents, confirmed to media outlets, including the Waco Herald-Tribune, that Starr was still president on Tuesday. At the player’s trial, four other witnesses said he had raped them as well.
The spokesperson did not elaborate beyond that, except to say; ‘We will not respond to rumors, speculation or reports based on unnamed sources, but when official news is available, the University will provide it.
President Judge Kenneth Starr portrait at Founders Mall in front of Pat Neff Hall.
Amid the reports, Starr remained at work Tuesday, said Rebecca Malzahn, deputy chief of staff in the president’s office. If he didn’t deserve to be fired, she said, then the regents are just making him the scapegoat.
Or: “Yes, we ignored the claims of student Jasmin Hernandez when she told us she had been raped by football player Tevin Elliott, and we did not offer her counseling or help as she struggled after the assault and dropped out of the university”.
Baylor hired its first full-time Title IX coordinator in November 2014 and recently updated many of its sexual assault policies. Reagan Ramsower, Baylor’s senior vice president of operations and chief financial officer, will serve as the school’s interim president as the school conducts a national search, sources told Horns Digest. Other reports of assault allegations followed and more than 200 Baylor students, faculty and alumni staged a candlelight vigil outside of Starr’s Waco residence in February. Colleges and universities are required to report crime statistics to the U.S. Department of Education. Brown, citing a source, reports that Starr could be reassigned to a new role in the Baylor law school without having his pay reduced, and another source indicated that Starr might not go quietly.
Pepper Hamilton investigated at Baylor’s request and issued a report and briefed members of the board of regents on its findings earlier this month, the Associated Press reported at the time.
“Baylor has a tendency to do one thing and pretend it fixes everything”.
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Without knowing what the report says yet, I can only speculate that Baylor/Pepper Hamilton found something in the report that it simply could not live with going forward. But so far, she said, she has heard from other rape survivors that the university’s response is still inadequate.
