Schools

Federal Office of Civil Rights Investigating U-M's Handling of Sexual Assault Cases

Similar meetings were held at MSU in February.

The federal Office of Civil Rights is entering the investigation of the University of Michigan’s handling of sexual assault cases, a development prompted by two complaints it received questioning the timeliness of the university’s investigation of rape allegations against football player Brendan Gibbons

The investigators will meet with student groups and hold open houses for members of the campus community, the Detroit Free Press reports. Similar meetings were held in February on the Michigan State University campus, where it’s looking into how that university handled an alleged sexual assault by athletes in a dorm in August 2010.


The U-M meetings are scheduled for:

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  • 8-9 p.m., April 15 in the Blain Room in the Michigan Union
  • 9 a.m.-4:30 p.m., April 16 in Room 2105D in the Michigan Union
  • 8-9 p.m., April 16 in Room 2105D in the Michigan Union
  • 9 a.m.-noon, April 17Room 2105D in the Michigan Union

Anyone is able to offer input into the investigation by emailing umichinput@ed.gov or by calling the University of Michigan Office of Civil Rights at (216) 522-4970 and referencing OCR #15-14-2111.

Two complaints were filed with the Civil Rights Office over the handling of sexual assault investigations, including one by former U-M staffer Douglas Smith. The U.S. Department of Education is currently investigating the university’s handling of allegations that Gibbons, a kicker for the Wolverines until he was expelled last December, raped another student.

Find out what's happening in Farmington-Farmington Hillswith free, real-time updates from Patch.

In one of two Michigan State investigations, the Office of Civil Rights is looking into allegations that two athletes were accused by a female student. The Ingham County Prosecutor’s Office elected not to pursue charges against the two men.


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