COTTONWOOD HEIGHTS, UT (KUTV/CNN) – An 18-year-old student has filed a lawsuit against her former college, claiming the school did nothing to protect her from an ex-boyfriend who sexually assaulted her in high school.
Kennedy Flavin, 18, is an elite lacrosse player who got an academic and athletic scholarship, totaling more than $19,000 per year, to Westminster College in Salt Lake City.
But then her ex-boyfriend, who had sexually assaulted Flavin in high school, decided to attend Westminster and play for the men’s lacrosse team instead of enlisting in the Marines.
When he arrived, Flavin says all the “shame, guilt and fear...came rushing back.”
Making matters worse, the college placed the two in neighboring dorms, less than 100 feet apart, according to documents.
“He can, quite literally, look in his victim’s window,” the documents state.
According to the lawsuit, this violated both Title IX regulations and a restraining order Flavin had against her ex-boyfriend.
“This lawsuit is about what should have happened,” said Dale Boam, Flavin’s attorney. “Westminster was given many opportunities to put protections in place, to make sure they were separated, and time and time again, Westminster either overlooked or did not focus on the protection of my client.”
The lawsuit also claims the college discriminated against Flavin, who was born deaf.
“She couldn’t walk to campus. She couldn’t go back to her dorm. She couldn’t sleep in her dorm,” Boam said.
As a result, Boam says his client was forced to leave the school.
Flavin enrolled in another university, but because she lost her scholarship, the lawsuit states her father was forced to sell his house to pay for her education.
The lawsuit asks for compensatory damages for Flavin in an amount no less than the scholarship she was awarded plus the costs of her education at the other university.
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