Eleven women have filed a lawsuit against Eastern Michigan University in federal court, alleging it "turned a blind eye" to 30 sexual assaults.
The suit claims four men committed assaults against women from 2015 to 2020 and the school did nothing to stop it. Three of the men have been charged criminally.
“This case is all about fighting for these victims’ rights and changing the culture of what exists today to recognize the difference between right and wrong,” said attorney Todd Flood, who filed the lawsuit Wednesday. The suit names the school and the Alpha Sigma Phi and Delta Tau Delta fraternities as defendants.
For its part, the school says an outside law firm is investigating the allegations.
Named is Melody Werner, who previously served as Eastern Michigan University’s Title IX director and allegedly failed to report accusations to law enforcement in 2018, allowing one former student "to continue his serial sexual assaults," the lawsuit says.
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The suit claims Werner told one woman who said she had been raped: “There is no point in reporting it. They’re in a fraternity. Greek community is going to back them up.”
Eastern's spokesman Geoff Larcom released a statement on behalf of Werner: "Melody Werner categorically denies ever saying anything of that nature to any individual reporting a sexual assault. Her career as a Title IX professional is dedicated to exactly the opposite — encouraging survivors to come forward and report what happened to them and to support them in any way possible."