Editor’s note: This story contains alleged accounts of sexual assault. If you or someone you know is a survivor of sexual assault, contact the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 1-800-656-4673 or at https://www.rainn.org
Five members of San Diego State’s football team were reported last fall to campus officials for an alleged rape that took place at a house party off campus, according to a report from the Los Angeles Times.
The alleged incident took place on Oct. 16, when the five players allegedly raped an unconscious girl and left her “bloodied and bruised.” Two athletes sent messages through the anonymous reporting system, which was reviewed by SDSU’s executive associate athletic director and deputy Title IX coordinator, per The Times.
One athlete provided the name of one of the players, a senior. Both athletes who reported were not at the party, per The Times.
“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,” the student said, according to records obtained by The Times. They added, “Every person in authority here at SDSU needs to be aware of this, including [San Diego State President] Adela de la Torre.”
Now, more than seven months after the alleged incident took place, school officials have yet to launch an internal investigation or student disciplinary proceeding, per The Times. Both avenues are in place at the school in part to help protect students and employees from those found to have engaged in sexual misconduct.
Additionally, the school has not alerted the campus population that police are investigating a reported sexual assault, per the report.
According to The Times, the school was poised to launch an investigation in October, but police asked campus officials 12 days after the alleged incident to not to take any action that would compromise the investigation into the alleged rape. The request from local law enforcement reportedly precluded San Diego State from launching a Title IX investigation into sexual misconduct, as well as any review that would determine if there were student conduct code violations.
Legal experts told The Times that it “can be appropriate” for schools to comply with local police requests to delay internal investigations, but that it was troubling that the university had held off taking any action for nearly the entire academic year, as the university is obligated to ensure the safety and civil rights of students and employees even though the school can temporarily delay internal reviews at the request of law enforcement.
San Diego police said its investigation is ongoing, but would not provide any further details to The Times.
