Friday, February 20, 2004

Case of Jeremy Goldstein

Case of Jeremy Goldstein
(AKA: Jeremy S. Goldstein)


Originally From - Beachwood, Ohio
Former Student - Ohio State University, Cleveland, OH
Student - Bernard Baruch College, New York, NY
Brooklyn, NY
Columbus, OH
Lawrence, KS
Naples, FL
Kansas City, MO



On February 22, 2002, Jeremy Goldstein a student at Ohio State University sexually assaulted a woman he knew. Nineteen days earlier, on February 3, 2002, Jeremy Goldstein, was the subject of a complaint of alleged rape that he committed upon another female student.

In October of 2004, Jeremy Goldstein, pleaded guilty to a charge of criminal sexual imposition - a first-degree misdemeanor. The conviction was the result of a plea bargain.

Jeremy Goldstein was sentenced to two-years probation and then was allowed to  attend Bernard Baruch College in New York City, NY.

Two weeks after the second assault, Jenny Kline, director of residence life, made the connection between the two rape reports. She scheduled a meeting with Goldstein on March 13 (2002), according to legal documents from OSU. While the meeting took place, several other students came to the office to file complaints against Goldstein, according to a motion filed by OSU.

As a result of the meeting, Goldstein was expelled from the dorms, according to the university.  Jeremy Goldstein moved to an apartment on 13th Ave and continued attending classes for nearly a year and a half.

Dateline NBC exposed this case on national TV on December 11, 2005.

NOTE: There are several people by the name of Jeremy S.  Goldstein.   The Jeremy S. Goldstein on this page was born around 1983.  It is believed he currently lives in Kansas City, MO.

_________________________________________________________________________________

Disclaimer: Inclusion in this website does not constitute a recommendation or endorsement. Individuals must decide for themselves if the resources meet their own personal needs.

Table of Contents:

2004
  1. Woman Sues OSU Over Alleged Rape  (02/20/2004)
  2. Sued again - OSU sloppy in sexual assault  (02/23/2004)
  3. Judge orders records opened - Medical reports in alleged sexual assault case ordered to be shown to defense  (03/09/2004)
  4. Ohio State sexual assault case back in court  (09/24/2004)
  5. Student sues Ohio State U. over rape charges  (09/24/2004)
  6. Former OSU Student Pleads Guilty To Sexual Imposition - Goldstein Receives Probation  (10/04/2004)
  7. Rape on campus - Do universities do enough to prevent and condemn campus sexual assaults?  (12/11/2004)

2005
  1. Ohio State Students Support Plaintiff in Case Alleging University Wrongdoing in Rape Case (06/08/2005)
  2. Feminist group at OSU campaigns to get sexual-assault policy changed  (06/11/2005)
  3. Rape lawsuit delayed until October - Student filed $6 million suit against OSU  (08/18/2005)
_________________________________________________________________________________

Woman Sues OSU Over Alleged Rape
Lawsuit: Plaintiff's Attacker Was A Repeat Offender
NBC4 (Columbus, OH) - February 20, 2004

COLUMBUS, Ohio -- A woman has filed an $18 million lawsuit against The Ohio State University, alleging that the university and the Ohio Board of Regents failed to remove a male student who allegedly raped two women inside OSU dormitories within a three-week period.

The woman claims former student Jeremy Goldstein raped her, reported NewsChannel 4's Natalie Walston. The lawsuit states that Goldstein was a repeat offender and that OSU should have kicked him out of school after the first claim.

The plaintiff, Jane Doe, says was raped in a residence hall by Goldstein. Joe Dubyak, the plaintiff's attorney, says Goldstein was accused of raping another student just three weeks earlier.

"The university, as it related to the first rape, transferred the alleged rapist to a new dorm, and they took no other action," Dubyak said.

The lawsuit alleges that OSU and its controlling body, the Ohio Board of Regents, failed to follow and enforce federal safety rules and guidelines to handle students who are the subject of serious complaints, such as rape. Dubyak says OSU didn't hold its student judicial process to remove Goldstein until nearly two years after the alleged rapes. Goldstein has since been formally dismissed by OSU, meaning he can't re-enroll.

The criminal case against Goldstein is still pending.

Dubyak says his female client dropped out of school for a quarter because she came face to face with her alleged attacker.

"He was on campus, and she was on campus and she would see him," Dubyak said.

The lawsuit states the now 21-year-old OSU junior has suffered both physically and emotionally.

Dubyak released a statement from the woman that says, "No student should ever have to endure the endless delays and injustice that I did. OSU needs to empower victims of rape and not push them away."

The vice president of student affairs, Bill Hall, issued a written statement saying that he wants to ensure the university community that OSU takes allegations of sexual assault very seriously. He says there are a number of programs in place to educate and empower victims.

OSU officials can't comment directly on pending litigation.

_________________________________________________________________________________


Sued again - OSU sloppy in sexual assault
The Lantern - Feburary 23, 2004

An Ohio State student recently filed two lawsuits in the Franklin County Court of Claims and United States District Court against Ohio State University, the Board of Regents and a former Ohio State student, Jeremy Goldstein. The multi-million dollar suit alleges that Ohio State improperly handled a previous rape allegation against Goldstein on Feb. 3, 2002, thus allowing Goldstein to be in a position to rape the student 19 days later. The student's lawyer, Joseph Dubyak, said Goldstein was only subjected to a residence hall hearing for his first rape allegation and was transferred from one residence hall to another.

Ohio State appears to have made some major errors in handling the charges that had been levied against Goldstein. According to the Ohio State Student Code of Conduct, if the violation being investigated appears to be serious enough to warrant suspension or dismissal, the residence hall living unit commission should adjourn the hearing and have the case referred to the office of Student Judicial Affairs. In the case of the Feb. 3, 2002 complaint against Goldstein, Ohio State dropped the ball. An alleged rape complaint should be considered a suspendable or dismissable offense, and the residence hall officials should have transferred the case to the Office of Student Judicial Affairs, instead of dealing with the complaint themselves.

The biggest problem here, though, is the way the university resolved the first rape allegation. Transferring Goldstein out of his residence hall was not the right way to deal with someone accused of such a serious crime, immaterial of whether he was guilty of the first alleged rape. Dubyak is right to say Goldstein should have at least been removed from the dorms pending the investigation of the first charge against him. Goldstein still has the right to be considered innocent until proven guilty, but in the American judicial system, this does not mean that those accused of serious crimes should be allowed to stay in situations where they can continue to commit crimes. The Ohio State judicial system is not America's but should still reflect it when dealing with serious allegations, such as those against Goldstein.

The victimized student should also have the allegations against Goldstein dealt with in a timely manner, which the university clearly failed to do. The first university judicial hearings on him started either in September 2003 or October 2003, according to documents filed when charges were raised against Goldstein in Franklin Court of Common Pleas and by Dubyak, respectively. This is well over a year after the alleged rape occurred, which not only violates the student's rights to have the matter dealt with swiftly and fairly, but is potentially a violation of the student code. The student code requires the university to either file charges against a student code violator or drop them within a year of the filing of a written complaint against the violator, unless there are extraordinary circumstances.
The university needed to handle this situation in an entirely different way than it has. No dorm-swapping should have taken place, which resulted in endangering students. The threat should have been taken more seriously and university guidelines should have been followed. Letting a student suspected of rape stay in a residence hall and on campus is asking for trouble.

_________________________________________________________________________________


Judge orders records open - Medical reports in alleged sexual assault case ordered to be shown to defense
By R.H. Aly
The Lantern - March 9, 2004

The judge in an Ohio State sexual assault case ordered various documents, including medical and hearing records, to be turned over to the defendants for review on Friday. Judge John Connor said the defendant, Jeremy Goldstein, is allowed to look over Jane Doe's records because a defendant has the right to confront his accuser.

Jane Doe is the victim of the alleged sexual assault which occurred Feb. 22, 2002.

Ohio State University, Dr. Richard A. Mitsak, Angela White, Patrick Hall and the state of Ohio moved to stop their records from being turned over by filing a motion Nov. 21, 2003.

Max Kravitz, one of Goldstein's attorneys, said any document would be important for them.
"We are not going to leave a pebble unturned," Kravitz said. "Wherever there is a record, we want it."

Connor had looked over the records the defendant had requested from the plaintiffs through the subpoena, and he made his decision Friday.

One of the plaintiffs, Hall, is the director of student judicial affairs. Court documents said Hall had presided over Goldstein's disciplinary hearing. Goldstein had requested audio tapes of the hearing.

Court documents also indicate Hall's motion for preventing him from turning over his records is based on the fact that he is an attorney and his communications with Ohio State on this matter are privileged.

However, according to Connor's ruling, the disclosed tapes of the hearing do not show any attorney-client relationship existed between any of these parties.

"Neither does the Court find that the transcript of the hearing or Hall's records to be the sort of communications that are protected like those of a client seeking legal advice from an attorney," according to the court document.

As a result, Connor said Goldstein is allowed to see Hall's records as well.

The document also states Dr. Mitsak's attempt to withhold the records is due to the protection of the physician-patient privilege. Mitsak had provided medical care to Jane Doe.

Court documents say that under state law, there can be a waiver of the physician-patient privilege for three exemptions - when "either (1) the patient expressly waives the privilege, (2) the patient voluntarily testifies to the privileged matters or (3) where the patient has filed a medical claim against the physician or hospital."

The court document also said the judge ruled in favor of the defendant to be allowed to see medical records. Connor said Jane Doe had waived her privilege when she invited Mitsak to appear and testify at Goldstein's OSU disciplinary hearing.

White, another of the plaintiffs, is a post-doctoral staff clinician. According to court documents, she provides "services under the license of a psychologist at the OSU counseling center." She helped provide care to the complaining witness. Court documents say White does not have to provide records because she provides services under the license of a licensed psychologist. Therefore, the doctor-patient relationship is valid.

Connor, however, said in the court document, the patient privilege refers to licensed psychologists. "'[I] cannot be interpreted to cover unlicensed psychologists, where there is no evidence that the unlicensed psychologist was merely assisting a licensed psychologist or that a licensed psychologist was playing a direct, supervisory role in the patient's treatment,'" the document said.

Goldstein had subpoenaed other employees of OSU - Jennifer Klein, the director of Residence Life, and Karen Kyle, an education counselor and the University Police.

Goldstein is accused of sexual assault and was indicted by a grand jury on two counts of sexual assault on June 13. After the indictment, according to the court document, "Ohio State held a disciplinary hearing on Sept. 23, 2002." The court document also said the next hearing is set for March 26.

The hearing, however, will probably not start then, Kravitz said. It may be continued for another week.

_________________________________________________________________________________


Ohio State sexual assault case back in court
Daily Lobo (U-Wire) - September 23, 2004

KENT, Ohio (U-WIRE) - On Feb. 22, 2002, a woman who is now a Kent State University student alleged she was raped in one of the residence halls at Ohio State University. Both the woman and the accused man were freshmen at Ohio State at the time of the incident.

Though the rape allegedly happened in 2002, the criminal case against Jeremy Goldstein of Beachwood, Ohio, will be held next Monday due in large part to a mishandling of the allegation by Ohio State, according to the filed complaint. The case will be heard in the Franklin County Criminal Court in Columbus, Ohio.

The woman in the case also filed a lawsuit against Ohio State, seeking $6 million in damages.

_________________________________________________________________________________

Student sues Ohio State U. over rape charges
By Ryan Blackwell & Shannon Quinn
Daily Kent Stater (Kent State U.) - September 22, 2004

(U-WIRE) KENT, Ohio -- On Feb. 22, 2002, a woman who is now a Kent State University student alleged she was raped in one of the residence halls at Ohio State University. Both the man and woman were freshmen at Ohio State at the time of the incident.

Though the rape allegedly happened in 2002, the criminal case against Jeremy Goldstein of Beachwood, Ohio, will be held next Monday due in large part to a mishandling of the allegation by Ohio State, according to the filed complaint. The case will be heard in the Franklin County Criminal Court in Columbus, Ohio.

The woman in the case also filed a lawsuit against Ohio State, seeking $6 million in damages.

NBC's Dateline is investigating the criminal case for a television segment to be aired at a later date.

The reason for the criminal lawsuit stems from earlier allegations that Goldstein was charged with a separate incident of sexual assault on Feb. 3, 2002 -- more than two weeks before the incident that involved the Ohio State case.

According to Ohio State policy, any student who is accused of a serious offense, such as rape, is to be removed from the campus pending further investigation into the case.

However, the university took no actions to remove Goldstein from the campus. Instead, after a residence hall hearing, Goldstein was merely moved from one residence hall to another, according The Lantern, Ohio State's student newspaper.

Goldstein was later dismissed from Ohio State for two violations of the student conduct code, including safety rules and violation of sexual conduct.

Goldstein faces up to 20 years in prison for the two rape charges.

In 2002 there were seven sexual assaults reported on Ohio State's main campus. On Kent State's main campus, there were two reports of sexual assault, according to the U.S. Department of Education.

Though sexual assault is more common on Ohio State's main campus than Kent State's, there are things rape victims on any campus should know.

Kent State Police Chief John Peach said it's crucial for rape victims to report the incident and receive medical care.

"There's evidence (from the medical exam) that we can use to investigate," he said. "We try to get as much information as possible."

Peach said a problem the police encounter is the victim's reluctance to give information.
"Sometimes women feel awkward about reporting it and unjustifiably so," Peach said. "Lots of times they don't want anyone to know about it."

Six rapes have been reported on campus since 1999, and none of them had resulted in an arrest.

Once the rape is reported, Peach said the police will continue to investigate the crime -- even if the victim is reluctant.

"Our position is to protect everyone. We just can't drop it," he said. "If there's a one-in-a-million chance a guy's a rapist, we want to deal with it."

Peach said the police will help the victim find counseling at places such as the county's or campus's health center. He added that the county has a victim's assistance program, which supplies emotional and physical support from the hospital to the courtroom.

Peach said the atmosphere of the residence halls are immediately intimate because the rooms have multiple purposes. He said because the room is used as both a bedroom and study room, it often makes rape difficult to determine.

"It's the toughest investigation on campus," he said.

Peach said most times the only way police can investigate the incident is to question people who had seen the victim and alleged rapist before the crime occurred.

He said most victims know the rapist before hand.

"Almost all rapes we have reported are date rapes," he said.
_________________________________________________________________________________

Former OSU Student Pleads Guilty To Sexual Imposn - Gitiooldstein Receibationves Probation
NBC4 (Cleveland, OH) - October 4, 2004

COLUMBUS, Ohio -- A former Ohio State University student avoided jail time after reaching a plea agreement Monday in a campus rape case, NBC 4's David Wayne reported.

Jeremy Goldstein showed no emotion as his victim scolded him in court Monday. Goldstein pleaded guilty to sexual imposition. He had been charged with two counts of rape. If he completes his two years of probation, he will not serve any jail time, Wayne reported.

Surrounded by her family and friends, the victim delivered a pointed and emotional message, Wayne reported.

"Jeremy's guilty plea will go down as sexual imposition, but everyone knows what happened," the victim said. "But as we know, Jeremy is no innocent man. He is guilty. He is a cancer that has not only struck me, but others."

The victim read a prepared statement. It was her first public comments since the attack happened more than a year earlier.

"Your honor, there's no indication that Jeremy has remorse," the victim said. "There's no indication that he's tried to get well."

The prosecution said the victim suffered emotionally and academically.

"She went from a 3.5 GPA to 3.2, to where she had to withdraw by the end of the year," prosecutor David Zeyen said

The prosecutor outlined the case.

"At this point she tried to catch her breath, and she was in pain from the sexual aggression," Zeyen said. "She told him to get off of her, in no uncertain terms."

The defense argued that it was a weak case. The plea agreement lets Goldstein get on with his life, Wayne reported.

"I will not belabor the court with what everyone knows concerning the prosecution's serious credibility problems in this case," defense attorney Max Kravitz said.

"It was a straight 'He said, she said' case ... credibility of witnesses, and it's a very tough case to prove in general," Zeyen said.

Goldstein will return to college in New York and check in with his probation officer by phone.

A civil lawsuit remains in the case. The victim is suing Ohio State University. The university had no comment on Monday's sentencing.

_________________________________________________________________________________


IN THE COURT OF CLAIMS - FRANKLIN COUNTY, OHIO

JANE DOE

CASE NO.
92 W. 11th Avenue
Columbus, Ohio 43210,

JUDGE

COMPLAINT FOR Plaintiff, MONEY DAMAGES

vs.

OHIO STATE UNIVERSITY BOARD  OF REGENTS
30 East Broad St., 36th Floor
Columbus, Ohio 43215-3414
and

OHIO STATE UNIVERSITY
190 North Oval Mall )
205 Bricker Hall )
Columbus, Ohio 43210
and

JEREMY GOLDSTEIN
3313 East 13th Ave.
Columbus, Ohio 43201
Defendants.

First Claim
Now comes the plaintiff, by and through undersigned counsel, and for her Complaint against the defendants, states as follows:

1. On or about January 22, 2002, Plaintiff, Jane Doe (true identity withheld) was a student residing at a dormitory at the Ohio State University.

2. On that same date, the Ohio State University Board of Regents was in charge of the oversight and operation of all facilities and services belonging to and rendered by the Ohio State University, including the dormitories, campus security, security policies, sexual harassment policies, disciplinary policies regarding students alleged to have committed criminal offenses and the like.

3. On or about the same date, Defendant, Jeremy Goldstein, was a male student enrolled in the Ohio State University and resided in an Ohio State University campus dormitory.

4. On or about February 22, 2002, Defendant, Jeremy Goldstein, sexually assaulted, molested and raped Plaintiff, Joe Doe.

5. Nineteen days earlier, on February 3, 2002, Defendant, Jeremy Goldstein, was the subject of a complaint of alleged rape that he committed upon another female student.

6. This earlier, February 3, 2002 complaint of rape, was duly and properly reported to the Ohio State University authorities.

7. Despite rules and regulations promulgated by Defendant Ohio State University that require the removal from campus property pending further investigation of any student alleged to have committed a serious offense such as rape, Defendant, Jeremy Goldstein, was neither suspended nor removed from university grounds pending investigation and, thus, was in position to commit the brutal rape upon plaintiff herein.

8. Defendant, Ohio State University Board of Regents, was negligent in its failure to follow and/or enforce certain safety rules and guidelines that have been promulgated by the Ohio State University with regard to the handling of students who are the subject of complaints of alleged serious offenses, including rape.

9. Defendant, Ohio State University Board of Regents, was also negligent in its failure to implement reasonable safety/security measures, as it related to Defendant, Jeremy Goldstein, despite actual notice of a complaint of alleged rape against said student, occurring several weeks prior to Defendant Goldstein's rape of plaintiff herein.

10. Defendant, Ohio State University Board of Regents, was further negligent in failing to warn appropriate personnel, employees and students of the dangerous condition which existed on its campus, wherein a student who was the subject of a complaint of alleged forcible rape was permitted to freely circulate throughout the campus community.

11. In light of Defendant, Ohio State University Board of Regent's failure to follow and enforce safety rules and/or failure to warn or implement reasonable safety measures, it was also negligent in failing to provide inadequate security to the dormitories wherein students resided under circumstances where it permitted another student, who was the subject of a complaint of alleged rape, to circulate freely throughout the campus community.

12. At all times relevant, Defendant, Ohio State University Board of Regents was negligent in that it was foreseeable as a result of the above facts and circumstances that serious harm was likely to occur to someone such as the plaintiff, as a result of the failure to address the complaint of alleged rape against Defendant Goldstein.

13. As a direct and proximate result of the negligence of Defendant, Ohio State University Board of Regents, plaintiff has sustained severe and permanent emotional and physical injury to her body and psyche. Moreover, plaintiff has incurred medical expenses and other out-of-pocket expenses for the treatment of these injuries and expects to incur further such expenses into the indefinite future.

14. As a further direct and proximate result of the negligence of Defendant, Ohio State University Board of Regents, plaintiff has lost wages from her place of employment, has had her earnings capacity diminished, has experienced loss of enjoyment of life and has otherwise suffered great pain of both body and mind.


Second Claim
15. Paragraphs 1 through 14 are herein incorporated as if fully rewritten herein.

16. At all times relevant, Defendant, Ohio State University Board of Regents, was so reckless in its failure to address the prior complaint of alleged rape against Defendant, Jeremy Goldstein, that such recklessness constitutes intentional conduct as a matter of law.

17. Further, Defendant, Ohio State University Board of Regent's actions in failing to remove Defendant Goldstein or to otherwise appropriately address the prior complaint of rape against Defendant Goldstein was outrageous and utterly intolerable in a civilized society.

18. Defendant, Ohio State University Board of Regent's, failure to take appropriate measures against Defendant Goldstein under circumstances, where he was the subject of a prior alleged rape, was likely and/or substantially certain to result in the infliction of severe emotional distress upon the plaintiff.

19. Plaintiff did indeed sustain severe emotional distress as a result of the outrageous and reckless infliction of emotional distress perpetrated by Defendant, Ohio State University Board of Regents.


Third Claim
20. Paragraphs 1 through 19 are hereby incorporated as if fully rewritten herein.

21. Defendant, Jeremy Goldstein, either negligently, recklessly or intentionally engaged in acts of non-consensual sex with the plaintiff.

22. Defendant Goldstein knew or reasonably should have known that his sexual advances were unwelcome and unwelcomed by and unconsented to by the plaintiff.

23. As a direct and proximate result of the reckless negligence and/or intentional actions of Defendant Goldstein in forcing non-consensual sex upon the plaintiff, the latter has sustained severe and permanent injury to both her body and psyche.

24. As a further direct and proximate result of the recklessly negligent and/or intentional conduct of Defendant Goldstein, plaintiff has incurred medical and other out-of-pocket expenses for the treatment of her injuries and reasonably expects to incur further such expenses into the indefinite future.

25. As a further direct and proximate result of the recklessly intentional and recklessly negligent and/or intentional conduct of Defendant Goldstein, plaintiff has lost wages from her place of employment, experienced the loss of enjoyment of life, has had earnings capacity diminished and has otherwise suffered great pain of both body and mind.

WHEREFORE, Plaintiff demands judgment against each defendant in an amount greatly in excess of Twenty-Five Thousand Dollars and further prays that each defendant be assessed the costs of this action.

Respectfully submitted,
_______________________________
JOSEPH A. DUBYAK (0025054)
PAUL V. WOLF (0038810)

Attorney for Plaintiff
50 Public Square, Suite 920
Cleveland, Ohio 44113-2206
(216) 241-0300
Fax: (216) 241-2731
I
N THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
NORTHERN DISTRICT OF OHIO
EASTERN DIVISION
JANE DOE ) CASE NO.
92 W. 11th Avenue )
Columbus, Ohio 43210, ) JUDGE
)
) COMPLAINT
Plaintiff, ) (A Jury Demand is Endorsed
vs. ) Hereon)
)
)
OHIO STATE UNIVERSITY BOARD )
OF REGENTS )
30 East Broad St., 36th Floor )
Columbus, Ohio 43215-3414 )
and

OHIO STATE UNIVERSITY )
190 North Oval Mall )
205 Bricker Hall )
Columbus, Ohio 43210 )
and

JEREMY GOLDSTEIN
3313 East 13th Avenue
Columbus, Ohio 43201
Defendants.

I. JURISDICTION
1. The basis of jurisdiction is 28 U.S.C. § 1337, which confers jurisdiction of actions arising under acts of Congress, regulating commerce in the District Court of the United States. This action is brought pursuant to Title IX of the Education Acts of 1972, as amended, 20 U.S.C. § 1681(a), et seq.

II. VENUE
2. Venue is based upon 28 U.S.C. § 1391(b). All of the parties are residents of the State of Ohio. The claim asserted by the plaintiff arose in Ohio and the defendant is presently doing business in the judicial district for the Northern District of Ohio.


III. PARTIES
3. Plaintiff resides at 92 West 11th Avenue, Columbus, Ohio 43210. At all times concerned, plaintiff was a fulltime matriculating student at Defendant Ohio State University. The address set forth above is plaintiff's dormitory residence.

4. Defendant Ohio State University Board of Regents are in charge of the oversight and operation of all facilities and services belonging to and rendered by the Ohio State University, including the dormitories, campus security, security policies, sexual harassment policies, and disciplinary policies regarding students alleged to have committed criminal offenses and the like. Moreover, the Ohio State University Board of Regents is a subdivision of the State of Ohio.

5. Ohio State University is a university of higher education organized and operated by the State of Ohio and the Ohio State University Board of Regents. Its main office is located at 190 North Oval Mall, 205 Bricker Hall, Columbus, Ohio 43210.

6. Defendant, Jeremy Goldstein, resides at 3313 East 13th Avenue, Columbus, Ohio 43201. At all times relevant, Defendant Goldstein was a fulltime matriculating student at Defendant Ohio State University.


IV. FIRST CLAIM
7. Paragraphs 1 through 6 are hereby incorporated by reference as if fully rewritten herein.

8. On or about February 22, 2002, Defendant, Jeremy Goldstein, sexually assaulted, molested and raped Plaintiff, Jane Doe.

9. Nineteen days earlier, on February 3, 2002, Defendant, Jeremy Goldstein, was the subject of a complaint of alleged rape that he had committed upon another female student.

10. This earlier, February 3, 2002 complaint of rape, was duly and properly reported to the Ohio State University authorities.
1
1. Despite rules and regulations promulgated by Defendant Ohio State University that required the removal from campus property, pending further investigation of any student alleged to have committed a serious offense such as rape, the Defendant, Jeremy Goldstein, was neither suspended nor removed from the University grounds pending investigation and, thus, was in a position to commit the brutal rape upon plaintiff herein.

12. Accordingly, pursuant to Title IX, plaintiff was subjected to severe, pervasive and objectively offensive harassment to the extent that it deprived her of access to the educational opportunity or benefits provided by the Ohio State University.

13. At all times relevant, Defendants Ohio State University Board of Regents and Ohio State University had actual knowledge of the sexual harassment, which was being perpetrated by Defendant, Jeremy Goldstein.

14. Despite the fact that Defendants Ohio State University Board of Regents and Ohio State University had actual knowledge of the sexually harassing conduct engaged in by Defendant, Jeremy Goldstein, said Defendants were deliberately indifferent to Goldstein's criminal behavior and sexual harassment.

15. As a direct and proximate result of the deliberate indifference to the sexual harassment committed by Defendant, Jeremy Goldstein, by Defendants Ohio State University Board of Regents and Ohio State University, plaintiff was subjected to harassment so severe, pervasive and objectionably offensive that it deprived her of access to the educational opportunity or benefit provided by Ohio State University in violation of Title IX of the Education Act of 1972, as embodied in 20 U.S.C. § 1681(a), et seq.

16. As a direct and proximate result of Defendant Ohio State University Board of Regents and Ohio State University, violation of plaintiff's Title IX rights, plaintiff has sustained severe and permanent emotional and physical injury to her body and psyche. Moreover, plaintiff has incurred medical expenses and other out-of-pocket expenses for the treatment of these injuries and expects to incur further such expenses into the indefinite future.

17. As a further direct and proximate result of the violation of plaintiff's Title IX rights by Defendants Ohio State University and Ohio State University Board of Regents, plaintiff has lost wages from her place of employment, has had her earnings capacity diminished, has experienced a loss of enjoyment of life and has otherwise suffered great pain of both body and mind.


V. SECOND CLAIM
18. Paragraphs 1 through 17 are herein incorporated as if fully rewritten herein.

19. Defendants, Ohio State University Board of Regents and Ohio State University, were negligent in their failure to follow and/or enforce certain safety rules and guidelines that have been promulgated by the Ohio State University, with regard to the handling of students who are the subject of complaints of alleged serious offenses, including rape.

20. Defendants, Ohio State University Board of Regents and Ohio State University, were also negligent in their failure to implement reasonable safety/security measures, as it related to Defendant, Jeremy Goldstein, despite actual notice of a complaint of alleged rape against said student occurring several weeks prior to Defendant Goldstein's rape of plaintiff herein.

21. Defendants, Ohio State University Board of Regents and Ohio State University, were further negligent in failing to warn appropriate personnel, employees and students of the dangerous condition, which existed on its campus, wherein a student, who is the subject of a complaint of alleged forcible rape, was permitted to freely circulate throughout the campus community.

22. In light of Defendants, Ohio State University Board of Regents and Ohio State University's failure to follow and enforce safety rules and/or failure to warn or implement reasonable safety measures, they were also negligent in failing to provide adequate security to the dormitories wherein students resided under circumstances where they permitted another student, who was the subject of a complaint of alleged rape, to circulate freely throughout the campus community.

23. At all times relevant, Defendants, Ohio State University Board of Regents and Ohio State University, were negligent in that it was foreseeable as a result of the above facts and circumstances that serious harm was likely to occur to someone such as the plaintiff as a result of the failure to address the complaint of alleged rape against Defendant Goldstein.

24. As a direct and proximate result of the negligence of Defendants, Ohio State University and Ohio State University Board of Regents, plaintiff has sustained severe and permanent emotional and physical injury to her body and psyche. Moreover, plaintiff has incurred medical expenses and other out-ofpocket expenses for the treatment of these injuries and expects to incur further such expenses into the indefinite future.

25. As a further direct and proximate result of the negligence of Defendants, Ohio State University and Ohio State University Board of Regents, plaintiff has lost wages from her place of employment, has had her earnings capacity diminished, has experienced loss of enjoyment of life and has, otherwise, suffered great pain of both body and mind.


VI. THIRD CLAIM
26. Paragraphs 1 through 25 are hereby incorporated as if fully rewritten herein.

27. At all times relevant, Defendant, Ohio State University Board of Regents, was so reckless in its failure to address the prior complaint of alleged rape against Defendant, Jeremy Goldstein, that such recklessness constitutes intentional conduct as a matter of law.

28. Further, Defendant, Ohio State University Board of Regent's actions in failing to remove Defendant Goldstein or to otherwise appropriately address the prior complaint of rape against Defendant Goldstein was outrageous and utterly intolerable in a civilized society.

29. Defendant, Ohio State University Board of Regent's, failure to take appropriate measures against Defendant Goldstein under circumstances, where he was the subject of a prior alleged rape, was likely and/or substantially certain to result in the infliction of severe emotional distress upon the plaintiff.

30. Plaintiff did indeed sustain severe emotional distress as a result of the outrageous and reckless infliction of emotional distress perpetrated by Defendant, Ohio State University Board of Regents.


VII. FOURTH CLAIM

31. Paragraphs 1 through 30 are hereby incorporated as if fully rewritten herein.

32. Defendant, Jeremy Goldstein, negligently, recklessly or intentionally engaged in acts of non-consensual sex with the plaintiff.

33. Defendant Goldstein knew or reasonably should have known that his sexual advances were unwelcome and unwelcomed by and unconsented to by the plaintiff.

34. As a direct and proximate result of the reckless negligence and/or intentional actions of Defendant Goldstein in forcing non-consensual sex upon the plaintiff, the latter has sustained severe and permanent injury to both her body and psyche.

35. As a further direct and proximate result of the recklessly negligent and/or intentional conduct of Defendant Goldstein, plaintiff has incurred medical and other out-of-pocket expenses for the treatment of her injuries and reasonably expects to incur further such expenses into the indefinite future.

36. As a further direct and proximate result of the recklessly intentional and recklessly negligent and/or intentional conduct of Defendant Goldstein, plaintiff has lost wages from her place of employment, experienced the loss of enjoyment of life, has had earnings capacity diminished and has otherwise suffered great pain of both body and mind.


WHEREFORE, Plaintiff demands judgment against each defendant in the amount of Three Million Dollars as compensatory damages and in the additional amount of Three Million Dollars as punitive damages, together with the costs of this action.
Respectfully submitted,
_______________________________
JOSEPH A. DUBYAK (0025054)
PAUL V. WOLF (0038810)
Attorneys for Plaintiff
50 Public Square, Suite 920
Cleveland, Ohio 44113-2206
(216) 241-0300
Fax: (216) 241-2731

JURY DEMAND
Pursuant to Rule 38(B) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, a trial by
jury is respectfully requested on all the issues presented herein.
_______________________________
JOSEPH A. DUBYAK (0025054)
PAUL V. WOLF (0038810)
Attorneys for Plaintiff
_________________________________________________________________

Rape on campus - Do universities do enough to prevent and condemn campus sexual assaults?
By Hoda Kotb 
Dateline NBC - December 11, 2005

It's supposed to be the best four years of your life. But five young women "Dateline" spoke to say that for them, college turned into something very different.

Five college students who say they were sexually assaulted on campus. But this is a story of how their universities handled their cases. When each of these women reported being attacked by a fellow student, did their schools act quickly or strongly enough?

Annie, Kate and Samantha, went to the University of Virginia, Georgetown and William and Mary. All three say they were raped by fellow students their freshman year of college. All three reported the alleged assaults to school officials.

Annie: Right away I wanted to go through the adjudication process the school has to offer. I'm like, let's get it going now. I want him out."

Samantha: I was hoping that he would—they would force him off campus, and force him off campus quickly, and that he's never be able to come back.

Students reporting acquaintance rape often turn first to campus officials: these allegations are hard to prove beyond a reasonable doubt in criminal court because it's often one person's word against another. Many schools hold formal court-like hearings where panels of faculty and students determine whether a student is responsible for sexual misconduct and recommend how to discipline a student who is found responsible.

Samantha says after filing a police report, she was told William and Mary officials would get in touch with her promptly. But she says a few days later, she hadn't heard a thing.

Samantha: Actually I had to contact the Dean's Office myself and just say, "Yes, I was raped. Why haven't you guys called me yet?"

Hoda Kotb, Dateline Correspondent: And what did they say the hold up was?

Samantha: There was just a lot of busy stuff. And it took them a while to write up the report. Apparently some very serious things had happened that week. And I felt like screaming, "Well hello, I was raped. Is that not serious enough for you?"

Samantha, Kate and Annie all say they were discouraged by university officials from moving forward with their cases, claims school officials deny. All three students say they pushed their schools to hold hearings anyway.

All three were found responsible for sexual misconduct.

Samantha's alleged assailant was dismissed from William and Mary, but given the opportunity to reapply after a year. In the end, he did not.

Georgetown initially decided to expel Kate's alleged attacker, but after he appealed, the punishment was changed to a one year suspension.

Kate: Expulsion would be too harsh. Like that I wasn't important enough to say "You don't belong here."

Annie's alleged assailant wasn't expelled or suspended from UVA — instead he was ordered to stay away from Annie, and required to attend counseling.

Annie: It was disgusting. It was, you know, it said that anything that I was worth, I was worth a restraining order?

All the more infuriating, Annie says, when compared to UVA's strict academic honor code. Students are automatically expelled if they violate it, by say cheating on an exam.

Kotb: Everyone knows that if you cheat, you're out. If you steal, you're out. If you lie, you're out.

Annie: If you rape, you graduate.

After Annie's alleged assailant graduated from UVA, she sued him in civil court, and a jury found him liable for gross negligence. He is asking the judge to throw out that verdict.

The men accused of attacking Annie, Samantha and Kate have all denied any wrongdoing. And none of them was prosecuted.

Each year, about 4,000 U.S. college students report to school officials that they've been sexually assaulted. What happens after they file those reports has stirred controversy at campuses across the country: Dateline took a closer look at the case of one young woman— Stacy, at Ohio State University.

Stacy: I know that this nightmare will follow me for the rest of my life.

Stacy's freshman year at Ohio State back in 2001, started out as you might expect — football games, all nighters, a little too much partying and plenty of friends.

Stacy: I loved my roommates. Everything. My grades were up. Everything was going as planned.

Kotb: Really? What kind of grades did you get your first semester?

Stacy: Around a 3.5.

One of the guys Stacy hung around with freshman year was Jeremy Goldstein, a wrestling star from her high school back in Cleveland. Stacy acknowledges she had consensual sex with Jeremy once in October. But she says what happened the night of February 22, 2002 was completely different.

That night, Stacy came back from an off campus bar— a little buzzed, she says, but not drunk—and met up with Jeremy for a smoke outside his dorm. Stacy says he'd left his cigarettes upstairs, so she agreed to go to his room. But she says she told him she wasn't interested in anything physical.

Kotb: Is there any way Jeremy could have misunderstood when you went up to his room that night?

Stacy: No.

Kotb: Is there any way he could have thought—

Stacy: Not a chance.

Kotb: She's coming up here and we know what's going to happen.

Stacy: No way. Not a chance. I said, "We are not hooking up, right? You know that right?"

Kotb: And he said?

Stacy: Oh of course. My roommate's up there.

But his roommate was passed out cold. Jeremy started to kiss her and at first she let him, but Stacy says the former wrestler turned violent, pulling down her pants, and penetrating her with his hand, and biting her neck, all while he had her pinned down.

Stacy: My hands above my head. Pulling my ears with his teeth. Telling me how much I was enjoying it, although I was gasping in pain. And right away he was—started raping me. And I told him several times—I don't know what words I can use and what words I can't. But, "Get the fuck off me."

Stacy says the third time she yelled so loud his roommate stirred and Jeremy got off of her. She says she walked back to her dorm, feeling numb. The next day, she went to a university official and reported she'd been raped.

Kotb: How tough was it, Stacy, to get those words out? I was raped?

Stacy: I couldn't even say the word rape for a very long time. Months.

The official wrote up Stacy's allegation and called the police, who asked if she wanted to file a criminal report. Stacy told them she wasn't sure and didn't do so.

During the spring semester, Stacy tried to get back to her classes and her friends. The whirr of college life was going on all around her, but Stacy says she didn't feel a part of it.

Stacy: There'd be nights that I would just turn off every light in my room, even the TV and just lay there.

By the week before final exams, Stacy says, she was in danger of failing all her classes.

Stacy: I withdrew from classes, every class spring quarter. Because if I wanted to get a "D" in any of the classes, I would have to get 100 percent on every final.

Kotb: Was there a low point that you just said, "That's it, I need to do something and I need to do it now"?

Stacy: I was angry because as far as I knew, Jeremy Goldstein was going on about his life as if nothing had happened. And I was just sitting in my room in the dark, metaphorically and literally. And that, to me was not justice.

Stacy took incompletes in her classes. But before she left school that June of her freshman year, four months after she says she was raped, she decided to go back to the police and file a criminal report. As the criminal investigation of Jeremy Goldstein got underway, Stacy says she wanted the university to take action against him too — to have him expelled. Starting in the fall of her sophomore year, she says, she had several conversations with the official in charge of campus hearings, but she says those talks went nowhere.

Kotb: You went to the head of judicial affairs to say what?

Stacy: Say I want a school hearing.

Kotb: And he said what?

Stacy: "If I were you it would be in your best interest to wait until the criminal proceedings were over."

But justice was moving slowly through the criminal courts. And at Ohio State, no further action was taken on Stacy's case all through her sophomore year.

Then, at the end of her sophomore year, Jeremy was indicted for rape by a Columbus grand jury. Stacy says she came back to school the next fall, a year and a half after the alleged assault, determined to push for his expulsion. And that's when she says a rape counselor she was seeing happened to mention something university officials had never told her:

Just three weeks before Stacy says she was assaulted, another student had filed a complaint against Jeremy Goldstein.

Her name is Jamie, and freshman year at Ohio State, she lived in Baker hall, where Jeremy Goldstein lived too. Jamie says she and Jeremy had never even kissed, but she says one night as she was getting ready to go to a party with him, Jeremy suddenly attacked her.

Jamie: He was laying on top of me. And holding me, holding my arms. He could hold both of my arms with his one arm, so he could use his other arm to get his clothes off and try and take my clothes off. And I struggled. And he was, like, laying on my legs, too, so like, I couldn't really kick him.

Jamie says Jeremy pulled down her pants, talking to her all the while.

Jamie: [He said] "You want me and you know you want this."

And I was like, "No, Jeremy, I don't. This is not what I want."

He's like, "Yes, you do." I was like, "No, it's not."*

Like Stacy, Jamie says Jeremy bit her neck and ears and penetrated her with his hand. She says he tried to have intercourse with her but was unable. The next day, Jamie reported the incident to her resident advisor. She also filed a police report, but decided not to press charges. She says she didn't want to go through the ordeal of a trial, and she didn't push to have Jeremy expelled, but she did want officials to get him away from her.

Jamie: I wanted action taken as soon as they could get it done. And I wanted him out of the dorm. I didn't wanna have to see him.

Dorm officials met with Jeremy and Jamie and determined that Jeremy was responsible for sexual misconduct he was put on disciplinary probation— and was moved to another co-ed dorm right next door.

That's where Stacy says Jeremy assaulted her just three weeks later.

And soon, there was another complaint — one filed by three women a few weeks after Stacy says she was raped. "He got close to my face pointing at me and pushing me, calling me all those nasty names," reported one student. "He pushed me against the wall." wrote another. A third was the most blunt: "This guy should not be around any of the girls on this floor, and for that matter guys either... It's not safe."

Soon after those reports, Ohio State officials did remove Jeremy from university housing on a drinking violation. He moved into an apartment building just off campus and he was still free to go to classes, to parties and into many Ohio state dorms.

And that's how things stayed for the next year and a half until Stacy's junior year. She says the whole time, she lived in fear of her classmate Jeremy Goldstein.

Stacy: Terrified. Peeking your head in front of every corner. At the start of a new quarter, "Oh my gosh, do I have class with him? Where does he live?" And walking on one side of the street just because you think he probably is walking on the other.

Stacy has sued Ohio State, arguing the school should have moved more quickly to expel him. University officials declined our repeated requests for an on camera interview. But in court papers responding to Stacy's lawsuit, they say they did nothing wrong.

University officials point out that Jamie never asked to have Jeremy expelled. And they say it was Stacy, not them, who decided to delay the school hearing so it wouldn't interfere with the criminal proceedings. They say it was difficult to assess the credibility of both young women because Stacy acknowledged that previous sexual encounter with Jeremy, and Jamie said she'd gone to a party with Jeremy just after the alleged attack.

And campus officials point out that in the end they did take decisive action against Jeremy Goldstein.

On September 23, 2003 a year and a half after Stacy and Jamie reported being sexually assaulted by Jeremy Goldstein, and with a criminal rape charge pending, a one-day hearing was held at the university judicial affairs office. That same week, he was expelled from Ohio State.

Kotb: Essentially they did everything they could cause, they expelled him and that's the most they can do. Isn't that enough?

Stacy: Too little, too late. Ohio State could have prevented this.

Prevented it, Stacy says, by taking stronger action against Jeremy after the first sexual assault allegation.

Daniel Carter, vice president of victims rights group Security on Campus: It's offensive. And it's dangerous. And it's something that if parents recognized was going on, they would be demand they would be up in arms demanding changes.

Daniel Carter has helped Stacy and raise complaints about their universities with the U.S. department of education. He says many schools try to keep rape allegations very quiet.

Carter: A college or university often times is very afraid of what will happen to their enrollment, questions from parents: questions from contributors. It looks bad for the college.

Sheldon Steinback, lawyer at American Council on Education: I don't think universities are in anyway looking to conceal what's happening on campus.

Steinback, a top lawyer at the American council on education which represents universities across the country, did not comment on the Ohio state case, but he says in general, it's important to remember how difficult it is for universities to get to the bottom of acquaintance rape allegations. Often, both the accused and the accuser have been drinking.

Steinback: When only two people are in a room and there isn't any physical evidence, that would dramatically demonstrate what has transpired, it is very hard to move forward..

Kotb: When someone is found responsible of sexual misconduct, why don't they just kick them out of school like that?

Steinback: In many instances they do.

Kotb: Well, in some they don't.

Steinback: People's assessment of what is just and fair, in many instances that's in the eyes of the beholder.

And universities are concerned not just about the victim's rights, but also about the rights of students who could be falsely accused.

Steinback: They are both their students and they have a moral and legal responsibility to both students.

As for Jeremy Goldstein, he denies he raped Stacy and he denies the allegations made against him by the other women at Ohio State.

But last year, he pleaded guilty in Stacy's case to sexual imposition, a misdemeanor described in the state code as having sex when "the offender knows that the sexual contact is offensive to the other person" or when the other person is so impaired she can't appraise the situation.

Following state guidelines, the judge sentenced to Jeremy to two years probation, and ordered him to undergo an evaluation for sexual aggression.

But that's not quite the end of the Jeremy Goldstein case. In fact, this story ends where it began, on a co-ed college campus.

In 2004, Jeremy applied, and was accepted, to Bernard Baruch College in New York City.

Officials at Ohio State told dateline the transcripts OSU sent to Jeremy's new school included no information about his expulsion, or about the reports filed against him by female students. They say OSU's policy is not to release disciplinary records unless the school receives a specific inquiry.

Kotb: You know Jeremy Goldstein is in college in NY. Do you think about him, what he's doing?

Stacy: Scares me because in my mind it's a whole new batch of women that don't know him or his history.

Stacy's lawsuit against Ohio State is still pending. She has now transferred to Kent State University, and expects to graduate in the spring.

The University of Virginia, where Annie went to school, has now strengthened its policies against sexual assault on campus.


SOBERING STATISTICS

— About 90 percent of rapes occur between people who already knew each other.

— A 2001 study by the Bureau of Justice and National Institute of Justice found that about 3 percent of college women experienced a completed and/or attempted rape during the current college year.

— However, many claim less than 5 percent of completed and attempted rapes were reported to law enforcement officials. In about two-thirds of the rape incidents, however, the victim did tell another person about the incidents.

Department of Justice, LiveSecure.org, Security on Campus Inc.
_________________________________________________________________________________

Ohio State Students Support Plaintiff in Case Alleging University Wrongdoing in Rape Case
by Jennifer A Yoder
The Free Press - June 8, 2005

On June 6, members of a student organization at The Ohio State University sent the president of the school over 500 letters requesting that the university admit to failing to respond appropriately to a rape case in 2002.

"You, like a person, should have the integrity to stand up and admit when you've made a mistake," said Jennifer Yoder, co-chair of Women and Allies Rising in Resistance, a student organization dedicated to fighting violence against women.

Yoder addressed a group of around 30 at a press conference held for the letter send-off. University officials hovered in the back of the room, and a camera was sent from university relations to record the event. University spokeswoman Elizabeth Conlisk asked for a copy of Yoder's speech, and headed to a back room to speak off the record to reporters, declining comment on the lawsuit.

In 2002 on OSU's campus, a student named Jeremy Goldstein sexually violated another student. OSU's response, after finding him in violation of OSU's sexual misconduct policy, was simply to move him to another dorm, alerting no one in the new or old dorm as to the reason for this move, making a conscious and intentional decision to permit the risk of Jeremy Goldstein to be a continued presence on campus.

Only one month later in his new dorm he raped another woman, Jane Doe. Despite reporting the assault, telling Ohio State that the perpetrator's name was Jeremy, that he had been recently moved into Smith Hall, and exactly where he was living there, OSU refused or was unable to make the connection that this was indeed the same Jeremy who they had just moved to Smith Hall for sexually violating another woman.

The complaints about Goldstein continued to pour in, including four complaints on his new floor of harassment or fear of his temper/demeanor, and an incident in which he punched a woman in the face in broad daylight in front of the dorm. As a result of code of conduct violations Jeremy Goldstein was shuffled to three different dorms, and eventually to an apartment just across the street from campus.

Despite OSU's acknowledgement of the risk Goldstein posed, he was not suspended and barred from campus until August 26th, 2003, over 16 months after Jane Doe's complaint. In the time between her complaint in February of 2002 and his intermediate suspension in August 2003, OSU spent much of the time ignoring Jane Doe, calling it "empowering the victim to make her own choices." In September of 2003 Goldstein was permanently expelled from The Ohio State University, and was later convicted in a criminal court of gross sexual imposition.

OSU's only public statement about the case has been to send media copies of a recent motion to dismiss the case. The motion claims no responsibility in the case, indicating that the plaintiff, Jane Doe, could have prevented the assault herself had she made better choices.

Yoder found this to be a victim-blaming response. "It alarms me that the motion is very similar to a response from a defense attorney for a rapist."

Goldstein is on probation, attending Baruch College in New York City.

Jane Doe now attends school at Kent State.

_________________________________________________________________________________


Feminist group at OSU campaigns to get sexual-assault policy changed


The Plain Dealer (Cleveland, OH) - Saturday, June 11, 2005
A feminist student group at Ohio State University has started a letter-writing campaign urging the university to admit it improperly handled a rape three years ago that later resulted in a lawsuit.

More than 500 letters went to President Karen Holbrook on Monday, said Annie Hollis, who is with Women and Allies Rising in Resistance. The organization is dedicated to fighting violence against women.

Hollis acknowledged the university is unlikely to admit to any wrongdoing, especially since the lawsuit is still pending. The letter-writing campaign is meant to create awareness on campus.

_________________________________________________________________________________

Rape lawsuit delayed until October - Student filed $6 million suit against OSU

By Angela Schmitt
The Lantern  (Section: Campus) - August 18, 2005

In February of 2002, two female Ohio State students reported being raped in residence halls on opposite sides of campus. Both women were freshman. Both knew their assailant. But neither realized they were not their rapist's only victim.

Three-and-a-half-years after the attack, the second victim, Jane Doe, maintains a $6 million lawsuit against the university. Doe claims that OSU was negligent in failing to protect her from her attacker, former student Jeremy Goldstein. The university is liable for her suffering, Doe said, because the University's policies require subjects of such a serious complaint to be removed from campus.

Instead, after the first rape report, Goldstein was transferred to a different residence hall.

University officials are not discussing the case with news media while it is in litigation, said Ruth Gerstner a spokeswoman for the university. But the university has filed a motion to dismiss the case stating that "the victim is, in hindsight, simply unhappy with the consequences of her own decisions," such as her decision to delay filing a police report.

But Doe, whose name does not appear on legal documents, charges that her case was mishandled by the university at every juncture. Not only did the university fail to protect her from Goldstein, Doe said, it did not offer her the support that she needed to recover mentally from her attack, or to build her case against Goldstein.

"It has been over three years since I sought help from (the university) and I am still battling them now," Doe said. "Had the university followed its own policies and procedures I would not have endured the pain, anxiety and depression that I have."

Much has changed since Doe was a freshman who studied communication and pledged Kappa Kappa Gamma. Doe withdrew from classes at OSU three months after her attack, in May of 2002. At the time, she was suffering from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, she said.
In October of 2004, Jeremy Goldstein, pleaded guilty to a charge of criminal sexual imposition - a first-degree misdemeanor. The conviction was the result of a plea bargain.

Doe's attorney David Zeyen said Doe agreed that the prosecutor should reduce the charge from rape to sexual imposition.

"It was a date-rape situation and these cases are always difficult to prove," he said. "The circumstances of the case, including the delayed investigation, made the case more difficult from our standpoint."

In an statement agreed upon by both Doe and Goldstein about the facts of the criminal trial, Doe made it clear that she wanted Goldstein to stop and yet he continued forcing himself on her.

The parties also agreed that Goldstein should have known Doe wanted him to stop and that Doe experienced pain because of Goldstein's aggression. The two had been friends since high school and previously had consensual sex on one occasion, the facts of the case stated.

Goldstein was sentenced to two-years probation and is now attending New York University.
Doe attends Kent State University.

Her civil suit against OSU remains in its preliminary stages.

"(Goldstein and I) lived on South Campus where all dorms are within five minutes walking distance. As a result of the close living quarters, the remainder of my freshman year was spent constantly looking over my shoulder and hesitant to turn a corner," Doe said. "Simply walking out of my dorm was enough to make my heart pound rapidly."

It was not until two weeks after Doe's attack, when Jenny Kline, director of residence life, made the connection between the two rape reports. She scheduled a meeting with Goldstein on March 13, according to legal documents from OSU. While the meeting took place, several other students came to the office to file complaints against Goldstein, according to a motion filed by OSU.

Kline declined to be interviewed pending the results of the civil suit.

As a result of the meeting, Goldstein was expelled from the dorms, according to the university.

Despite Doe's fears, legal documents from the university said the meeting put an end to the trouble.
Goldstein moved to an apartment on 13th Ave and continued attending classes for nearly a year and a half.
During this period Doe asked OSU that Goldstein be expelled.
Doe said OSU did not inform her about the Student Judicial Affairs board - the board that had the power to and eventually did expel Goldstein.

When Doe learned of her option for a university hearing to expel Golstien, Doe said Pat Hall, former director of Judicial Affairs, and Kline, urged her not to pursue Goldstein's expulsion from the university until the criminal trial was underway.

"The only reason I contacted (Hall) was to seek justice and to remove the (Goldstein) from campus, Doe said. "Over and over again, he and others told me that it was in my best interest to wait until the criminal proceedings were over. When university authorities are repeatedly telling you what to do, you tend to believe that they know what they are talking about."

As a result of the advice she received, Goldstein remained on campus for a year and a half after her rape report, Doe said.

Before classes began in 2003, Doe met with Goldstein before the Student Judicial Affairs panel. As a result of the hearing, Goldstein was permanently expelled from the University. Although records are sealed the university noted that Doe said, "The hearing went better than I ever could have expected."

S. Daniel Carter, the vice president of the non-profit victim advocacy and educational organization, Security on Campus headquartered in Pennsylvania, said this type of delay in a case where a student is requesting action, is rare.

"It's not proper for a university to hold off for criminal proceedings," Carter said. A university hearing can be more meaningful to victims because they can actually remove the attacker from the victim's day-to-day life, Cater said.

Doe said she believes if she had not fought for Goldstein's expulsion, he would still be roaming around campus.

During the period between Doe's attack and Goldstein's expulsion four other female students reported being verbally and physically harassed by him, according to a report by University Police.

But according to legal documents from OSU, "The University is entitled to discretion in balancing the interests of the complainant, the due process rights of the accused and its mission to educate students."

"(The) delay in removing her assailant from campus - is entirely the consequence of decisions she made to consider her options, to delay filing a police report and to delay the Student Judicial Affairs hearing while she pursued recourse in criminal courts," according to a legal document filed by the University.

A police officer was called to the scene when Doe filed her original rape report on Feb. 22. Doe said that she did not understand why it was important to fill out a report and she was afraid she would have to see Goldstein in court if she did.

Doe said she would have filed a report if the university had explained the importance of filing a police report.

On June 22 Doe filed a report with the University Police; the investigation of Goldstein began, four months after her attack.

Zeyen said the delay in beginning the police investigation made it difficult to bring a rape charge against Goldstein in court.

Doe also said she was not informed after filing her rape report of the university's counseling and advocacy program for rape victims. She said she wishes some one at the university had suggested she be examined at the hospital.

The university said that Doe was free to contact Stevenson at any point for further information. OSU officials did not pressure her to file a report or follow up with her out of respect for her decisions and privacy, OSU said in its motion to dismiss the case.

But Doe said she feels she was dismissed by the university rather than respected.

"Leaving the victim totally clueless and uninformed is not empowering them," Doe said.

Since 2003 Doe has been working with Carter to change the university's policies on sexual assault, Carter said.

"I was victimized once by the rapist, and again by the university's inaction," Doe said. "Throughout all of this I have realized that it takes a lot of pain to make change. I believe it is my obligation to stand up against the injustice and fight for the victims that have been ignored, neglected or silenced by OSU administrators."

Doe has also submitted up to 60 pages of recommendations to the university in the handling of rape cases, Carter said.

Gerstner said the university has not changed any of its policies because of the Doe case.

Carter said that Doe first came to him seeking help drawing up recommendations for the university. If OSU had been more receptive, Carter said, he does not believe Doe would have filed suit against them.

Doe said the civil suit will continue in October. The trial has been delayed by requests for a dismissal, extensions and a venue change. OSU's motion to dismiss the case is pending, Doe said.

"Instead of admitting wrongdoing, the university is doing everything that they can to protect their image by attempting to undermine mine," Doe said.

OSU's student organization Women and Allies Rising in Resistance have been one of Doe's biggest advocates on campus. This June the group sent university president Karen Holbrook 500 letters requesting the university admit failing to respond appropriately to the case, according to the group's president Jennifer Yoder, a women's studies major at OSU.
In response to the letters Yoder received an e-mail from Holbrook, which appeared to have been written by lawyers, Yoder said.

Doe said she has no intention of settling out of court.

"The left hand needs to know what the right hand is doing," Doe said. "This has been one long never-ending nightmare for me, and I dream of the day that I wake up and justice is served."

_________________________________________________________________________________

FAIR USE NOTICE
Some of the information on The Awareness Center's web pages may contain copyrighted material the use of which has not always been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. We are making such material available in our efforts to advance understanding of environmental, political, human rights, economic, democracy, scientific, and social justice issues, etc.

We believe this constitutes a 'fair use' of any such copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the US Copyright Law. In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, the material on this site is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes.

For more information go to: http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml . If you wish to use copyrighted material from this update for purposes of your own that go beyond 'fair use', you must obtain permission from the copyright owner.

_________________________________________________________________________________

 "Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has." –– Margaret Mead

_________________________________________________________________________________

1 comment:

Anonymous said...


J Goldstein – Denver, CO A Division of IN THE POCKET ARTISTS, INC.
720.383.4653.
Email: JGold@inthepocketartists.com