Berry College has reached an undisclosed settlement with a former student who said the school did not do enough to ensure her safety after she was allegedly raped.
Two other women claimed the same man harassed them and one said he also tried to rape her. He has not been charged, and he reached a settlement with Berry after he filed a counterclaim arguing college officials encouraged the victims to incriminate him.
The women have been identified only as Jane Doe 1, 2 and 3.
The most recently settled suit claimed the crimes were dealt with by in-house discipline and never taken to the police.
“I’m not at liberty to discuss the settlement or its terms but just say that the case has been dismissed,” said Jane Doe’s attorney Amanda Farahany. “There is a question of federal court maintaining jurisdiction.”
The three women still have a civil lawsuit pending against the man in question.
That suit may move to superior court from federal court because the federal argument was the prohibition against sex discrimination in education — a civil rights claim that ends with the settlement, Farahany added.
Legal action began with the plaintiff filing a lawsuit in 2004 that accused the man of stalking, sexually harassing, assaulting and raping her between the fall of 2001 and the winter of 2004.
The man has accused the women of hiding behind rape shield laws while dragging his name through the mud.
Berry College officials have not commented on the situation.
Click here for a previous story about the male defendant settling with Berry College.
