San Diego State Football Players Accused Of Rape, University Responds
Five San Diego State University football players are being accused of raping an unconscious girl last fall and leaving her bloodied and bruised at a house party off campus.
The LA Times reports that the alleged rape took place on October 16th. To date, the university has largely ignored the situation. Per The Times, nearly 8 months later SDSU is yet to launch an internal investigation or student disciplinary proceeding.
San Diego State officials were made aware of the alleged rape via text messages sent by two student athletes through the school's anonymous reporting system. Per The Times, the messages were reviewed by SDSU’s executive associate athletic director and deputy Title IX coordinator, Jenny Bramer.
“99% of the football players are aware of the 5-person rape so the rest of the student-athletes are left wondering why nothing is being done,” a student told The Times: “Every person in authority here at SDSU needs to be aware of this, including (school president) Adela de la Torre.”
Per the Los Angeles Times' report, the alleged rape occurred one night after SDSU beat rival San Jose State. The victim was not only bloodied, but also left alone in the backyard of a football house and later underwent a rape test.
In one of the text messages sent by a student and reviewed by Bramer, the SDSU student said: “I suggest that the head coach is spoken to and the football players," via the The Times. "They know who did it and I am sure they know who the girl is,” then adding that “multiple student athletes” were aware of the accusations.
University officials have told The Times that an internal investigation is being delayed while police conduct a criminal investigation. Associate vice president, Josh Mays, who oversees campus public safety, said that “given the serious nature of these allegations,” it was imperative to allow police to investigate, per the Los Angeles Times. In an email sent to the paper, he continued: “To willfully interfere — as any university parallel investigation would do — would jeopardize any chance of the truth and justice through the criminal investigation."
Though not required to disclose the alleged incident or investigation to the campus and its students, its common place to address these type of concerns in at least some manner, in order to provide a sense of security. Since October, SDSU has not done so.
“I am very scared and worried that nothing is being done about this,” a San Diego State student told school officials through a message obtained by The Times.
*UPDATE* Upon review of the LA Times article and the corresponding OutKick piece this morning, SDSU President Adela de la Torre issued a statement, saying in part: "No individual should ever experience sexual assault, and SDSU has a range of policies, procedures, educational activities and training sessions specifically designed for prevention, and to actively address reports of sexual violence and misconduct. We are committed to preserving the integrity of SDPD’s criminal investigation to avoid jeopardizing anything less than achieving truth and justice, which every victim deserves."
As this story develops further, OutKick will have more information.
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