Hold CT university accountable for mishandling domestic violence case

Hold CT university accountable for mishandling domestic violence case

Started
February 28, 2023
Signatures: 437Next Goal: 500
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Why this petition matters

Central CT State University and its governing body CT State Colleges & Universities Board of Regents mishandled an intimate partner/domestic violence misconduct investigation, breached their own policies, and by doing so violated the victim rights as stated in CT law and their own Code Of Conduct. They did not provide the victim due process, and it is time to hold CCSU accountable for breaking their own rules.

In summary, a family member was the victim of a serious domestic assault that resulted in her getting a concussion, severe bruising and contusions on her head and body.  The perpetrator was her former boyfriend and a student athlete at CCSU attending on scholarship.  She was not a CCSU student, and the incident occurred on property near CCSU but not on campus.  He was arrested for Assault and Breach Of Peace.  This occurred on May 16, 2020.


Knowing that such actions violated many rules in the CCSU/CSCU Code of Conduct and the CCSU Athletic Contract, I filed a misconduct complaint on behalf of the victim 2 days after the incident, and for 10 months worked very closely with the CCSU Student Rights & Responsibilities Director during her investigation.  I was the primary contact and advocate throughout the investigation process.  CCSU, the victim and I exchanged many emails, providing statements, medical records, witnesses, as well as inquiries about the investigation status and hearing process.  During this time, we were led to believe that the victim would be part of the actual upcoming hearing and that I could attend the hearing as her advisor. However, 10 months after filing the misconduct report, I was notified by the CCSU Investigator/Director via email that the case was closed and the outcome could not be disclosed to us due to FERPA regulations.  CCSU had held a private hearing, blocked the victim from participating in the hearing, and never provided the victim with notification of its closure.  

I challenged CCSU, citing CT laws and all of the victim rights they had violated in their own Code Of Conduct.  I escalated it to CCSU President Toro and VP John Tully, but they still refused to disclose the outcome and did not comment on why they had excluded us from the hearing process.  They also would not comment on how they obtained a copy of the police report while the criminal case was still pending, without permission from the State Attorney's office.  I then contacted the CT State Colleges & Universities Board of Regents, who also stood by non-disclosure.  I reached out to the CCSU Title IX representative, who told me she was totally unaware of our case.  However, a Title IX rep is supposed to be part of the initial review team of all misconduct reports pertaining to domestic violence/intimate partner crimes.  Then I contacted FERPA who told me CCSU should have communicated the outcome to the victim even if it had redacted information. The FERPA rep stated that there are many lawsuits across the country for cases like ours, in which universities falsely claim nondisclosure under a "FERPA umbrella".  The victim and I then submitted FOIA requests to the Department of Education.  Both were denied.  I contacted local politicians who directed me back to contact CSCU BOR.  

In March 2022, I submitted a Whistleblower Complaint with the CT Auditor's Office, who then forwarded their findings to the Attorney General's Office.  The attorney who reviewed my complaint told me that they would not be pursuing the case, and could not disclose any of the findings or reason for not pursuing it.  He told me "the information was exempt" and "the AG's office can't tell colleges (BOR) what to do".  This is false because the AG Office can preside over the business operations of CSCU BOR.  I later learned that this AG attorney also represents CCSU in court matters.  This seems an unfair review of the findings of my whistleblower complaint.  In November 2022, I submitted a FOIA request directly with CCSU.  The CCSU councilman initially told me they were making copies and would contact me if any fee was incurred.  Shortly thereafter, she contacted me and said the information was FERPA protected and my request was denied.

During this time period, CCSU was in the news for an alleged rape that happened on/near campus.  CCSU President Toro spoke to the media stating "zero tolerance" on these types of crimes and "full transparency" on the issue.  Clearly she was telling the public what they wanted to hear, and did not take action on it as our case fully illustrates.

In addition, as the investigation was coming to a close, CCSU's Student Rights & Responsibilities Director who conducted the investigation told me that she would represent the victim in the hearing if we did not attend.  This is a conflict of interest because she also would be presenting evidence on the student perpetrator's behalf.   

A friend who is a faculty member of CCSU said he heard a rumor that they dismissed our case because the victim was not in an active relationship with the student.  This is contrary to the laws that state intimate partner/family violence as someone who is a "current or past relationship".  

I was also told that CCSU did not include us in the hearing because they have no obligation to anyone other than a student.   This seems to be the common bias against any victim of similar crimes.  This is also contrary to the laws and Code Of Conduct, since nowhere is a victim defined as being only "a student".  Actually, "victim" is not even defined at all in the Code of Conduct, yet it is mentioned throughout the verbiage of investigation and hearing processes.  I have done alot of research on this topic and can not find anything stating that a state university can exclude a victim if they are not a student. Therefore, universities do indeed have an obligation to victims of crimes committed by their students even if they are not a student but if the student perpetrator poses a threat to campus safety; as in our case.  

In January 2023, media company CT Inside Investigator published an article that details the assault, scandalous practice and lack of CCSU's  accountability.  As a result of this article, State Representatives Donna Veach (Berlin District:sponsor), Craig Fishbein (Wallingford District:co-sponsor), and Jack Fazzino (Berlin District) are using our story as a platform for change and proposed House Bill HB6099. CT Inside Investigator then followed up with a second article about HB6099. Here are the links to the articles. PLEASE READ both...


Behind Closed Doors : CCSU's Broken Assault Accountability System

Resolution On Intimate Partner Violence At Colleges Introduced In House

The public response to the initial article on social media had an outcry of disappointment, disgust and call to action.  Many people also commented that they too were victims of assaults at CCSU, and the university did nothing to resolve it.  CCSU has a long history of turning a blind eye to victims of intimate partner/domestic violence crimes by their students.  I recall hearing stories about this at CCSU when I was a college student 30 years ago.  It is time to change this!  This can no longer be tolerated by our community!

In conclusion, I have done as much as I can to resolve this issue alone over the past 1 1/2 years.  Eventually, we would like to take legal action against CCSU/CSCU BOR.  It is a unique case that invovles higher education law and civil/human rights law.  This is why we need your help!

CCSU must be held accountable for the breaches in their own policies.  They did not provide the victim of intimate partner violence due process in their investigation, hearing, and overall process.  I want justice for my family member and ultimately prevent CCSU from repeating this for other victims.  

Please sign this petition in support of my family member who was unjustly denied her rights as a victim of domestic violence according the CCSU/CSCU Code of Conduct.  Sign this petition if you know someone who was also a victim at CCSU.  Sign this petition if you are tired of the lies CCSU President Toro spews about "zero tolerance" and "transparency" on intimate partner crimes.  Sign this petition to help all current and future female students at CT state universities stay safe and feel protected by the policies set forth by our local government.  We want justice for my family member NOW and want to prevent CCSU from violating other victims' rights in the future.

Since CSCU Board Of Regents reports directly to Governor Lamont, I will personally deliver this petition to his office.  Thank you for your support.

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Signatures: 437Next Goal: 500
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