Perhaps Pacific University will be more careful in cases like this in the future.The College Fix reports:
Expelled grad student wins $3.95 million verdict against Pacific UniversityA former psychology graduate student won a $3.95 million verdict against Pacific University after it dismissed him from school following sexual assault allegations.The Washington County jury awarded Peter Steele the amount after it “found that Pacific had not acted in a fair and reasonable way toward Steele and had intentionally caused him emotional distress.”“The jury sided with Pacific on other counts, however, finding that the school did not violate Title IX, the landmark gender discrimination law, in its dealings with Steele and that it had not breached its contract with Steele,” The Oregonian reported.The newspaper reported:
Peter Steele, who enrolled in Pacific’s doctorate in psychology program in 2016, was suspended by the school in 2020 after a female student told school officials that he sexually and physically assaulted her. Steele maintains that his relationship with the woman was consensual and he did not assault her.Steele and the woman settled competing claims against each other before Steele’s case against Pacific went to trial, Steele’s lawyer Kevin Sali said. The terms of that settlement are confidential, Sali said.
“My sincere hope is that Pacific’s leadership takes a hard, searching look at what happened in this case so it can do what is necessary to ensure that it never happens again,” Sali told the media.
The university is considering an appeal, according to spokesman Blake Timm. “At every step in this situation, we followed our policies and procedures and we did not discriminate on any basis,” he told the media.
Brooklyn College Professor KC Johnson, who wrote a book about the Duke University lacrosse rape case, noted the uniqueness of the case.
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