A student at James Madison University has been charged with sexual assault, twice. This is a bizarre story, happening at a Virginia state school that we all pay to support.
A man and a woman at JMU had consenual sex numerous times prior to the woman accusing him of having raped her. The man, referred to as John Doe, had sex with Jane Roe the night they met and they exchanged friendly text messages the next day. Later Jane Roe said the sex wasn’t consensual because she was drunk. Her roommate testified to having seen Jane Doe shortly after the sexual incident and Jane did not appear to be drunk. The couple went on to have sex several more times with Jane Doe initiating the encounters.
A three person panel heard the case and sided with Doe. He was found ‘not responsible’ for sexual assault. Charges were dropped BUT Roe appealed. Then things got even more bizarre for John Doe. He was not given a copy of the charges against him but was finally allowed to look at them briefly and take notes. Doe was not permitted to appear at the second hearing nor was the roommate who offered testimony in the first hearing. Doe was not permitted to face his accuser or defend himself against the second round of charges. The university bent over backwards to accommodate Roe while denying Doe due process. Doe was found guilty of sexual misconduct and suspended from the university for a period of five and a half years to give Roe time to finish school before he is eligible to return.
John Doe is suing the university. The case seems to now center around whether or not Jane Roe was intoxicated during their first sexual encounter. Intoxication does not rule one incapable of making a decision to have sex. The fact that Roe continued to have sex with Doe and then charged him with rape after seeing him with another girl is dubious. The Federal judge in Doe’s suit against the university, an Obama appointee, Judge Elizabeth K. Dillon, has ruled the suit against the university, Doe can proceed with his lawsuit against the school. She called the university’s process ‘inadequate’.
Any parent of a son considering JMU for college should rethink that choice. It’s obvious there are different standards for men and women on the campus and due process does not apply to men. As taxpayers we should all object to men being treated this way at one of our state universities.
