New reports indicate a former student athlete at Baylor University in Waco, Texas has filed a federal Lawsuit against the university for what she calls its "deliberately indifferent response" to her allegations of a gang rape in 2012.
According to the plaintiff (referred to in the lawsuit as Jane Doe), certain members of the 2012 Baylor men's Football team were taking part in a "bonding ritual" they allegedly perform with all new football recruits.
That ritual, according to the suit, involves drugging and gang-raping young women, often at parties or other social events.
The assault allegedly occurred under former head coach Art Briles
Per the plaintiff's account, the assault occurred while Art Briles was the head coach of the men's football team. Briles was fired last year, after several additional allegations of sexual assault were made against other members of the same team.
Last May, Baylor school regents indicated they were "outraged" at the amount of sexual violence apparently taking place in and around the university, and added that they were truly "horrified" by the alleged mishandling of such incidents by school officials.
They went on to claim that the football program under Briles' leadership seemed to be nothing more than a "black hole into which reports of misconduct such as drug use, physical assault, domestic violence, brandishing of guns, indecent exposure, and academic fraud disappeared."
NPR indicates that a similar lawsuit was filed by an "Elizabeth Doe" earlier this year. The plaintiff in that lawsuit claimed to have been raped by Baylor football players in 2014. She also claimed that more than 50 rapes and no less than five gang rapes had taken place at the hands of dozens of Baylor players in recent years.
The lawsuit indicates sex is 'part of Baylor recruiting'
The new lawsuit includes many older allegations, along with nine additional pages detailing reports and arrests of various Baylor athletes.
According to the document, sex has long been considered a part of Baylor's "recruiting package." Older athletes allegedly escort young, impressionable recruits to strip clubs and similar venues, and members of the coaching staff "arrange for women to have sex with recruits on their official campus visits." The suit describes this practice as a school "hostess program."
Other portions of the lawsuit allege that women are often incorporated into hazing rituals at the university that promote rape and abuse. The particular accuser claims she was carried into an apartment, raped by several men while unable to move, then verbally abused and publically humiliated by certain players afterwards. She claims some players even indicated they had taken nude photos of her as she was being assaulted.
The plaintiff holds that Baylor University officials willfully misled her family and "manipulated" them into not taking legal action after being made aware of the assault.