From Doe v. Liberty Univ., Inc., decided Friday by Judge Norman Moon (W.D. Va.):
Plaintiff has sued Liberty University and another student at Liberty, alleging that student raped her and, when Plaintiff reported it to the Title IX office, Liberty was deliberately indifferent to her sexual assault claim and later retaliated against her. She also sued the other student for assault and battery.
This decision concerns Plaintiff's request to proceed anonymously as "Jane Doe," at the same time she has repeatedly, publicly identified the accused student-defendant—whom she alleges is a "rapist." Thus, on account of Plaintiff's drafting of her complaint, the student-defendant cannot be afforded privacy in defending against this suit.
While Title IX and sexual assault cases often proceed with anonymous litigants, typically both the alleged accuser and alleged accused are afforded those privacy protections. The Court finds, upon consideration of the relevant factors, that Plaintiff has not established her request for anonymity that would only apply as to her while the student defendant would be publicly named. The Court will deny Plaintiff's ability to proceed under a pseudonym but will afford her the opportunity to amend her complaint to include her name….
