SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — A former Brigham Young University-Hawaii student filed a lawsuit alleging the school’s honor code prevented her from seeking help after she was sexually assaulted by her campus job supervisor.
The lawsuit, filed Sept. 30 in Honolulu, claims the Mormon-owned school’s rules banning unmarried students from sexual activity made the victim feel like she could not report her assault. According to the lawsuit, the victim previously was suspended because of an alleged violation of the school’s honor code.
A BYU-Hawaii spokesman declined to comment about the lawsuit but said the university has a zero-tolerance policy for sexual misconduct.
The woman’s complaint comes as BYU-Provo faces a federal investigation into its compliance with Title IX, which requires universities to follow certain procedures when dealing with sexual assault on campus.
According to the lawsuit, the woman was working for the university’s student government in October 2014 when her direct supervisor drove her to a beach and sexually assaulted her on the way back.
“Through the remainder of (the woman’s) employment, (the defendant) used his position as … supervisor and superior to direct and/or lure her to the offices of the BYU-Hawaii Student Association and other locations where he could isolate and repeatedly assault her,” the complaint says.
The woman sought the appointed position of student association vice president in April 2015.
“Immediately before the interview for this position, over which (the defendant) had influence, he called plaintiff to solicit sex as a quid pro quo for his support of her candidacy,” the lawsuit says.
The woman quit her position a week later and was psychologically unable to take final exams. She needed special arrangements to take the exams off-campus, according to the lawsuit, which also alleges the university’s staff director in charge of student activities suspected the man was abusing his power but didn’t intervene.
The woman’s lawyer, Mark Gallagher, said she has since transferred to a school in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.
