Former Huston-Tillotson University student files lawsuit saying she was raped by security officer
AUSTIN TX Feb 17 2019 A former student is suing Huston-Tillotson University after she says she was raped by a campus security guard.
According to a lawsuit filed Wednesday, the woman, who hasn’t been identified, was a 17-year-old freshman at the time. The lawsuit claims a security guard, working for private security company G4S Secure Solutions, forced himself upon her in the back of his vehicle in July of 2018.
The lawsuit claims the security guard would make inappropriate comments to the young woman while she was walking on campus. It says on July 29, he asked her if she wanted to try marijuana for the first time, then on July 30 he contacted her, telling her to meet him to smoke.
The lawsuit says when the two met up, the student got into the security guard’s car and he drove her off-campus, where he then forced himself upon her. According to the lawsuit, she did not give consent, crying and saying, “No” and “Stop” during the assault. The lawsuit also asserts that the security guard threatened to hurt the young woman or one of her parents if the incident got “blown out of proportion.”
The lawsuit states that shortly after the incident, the young woman called 911 and went to Dell Children’s Medical Center, where an examination showed she had been penetrated.
The Austin Police Department says the case has since been closed and prosecution was denied.
A spokeswoman for Huston-Tillotson University tells KXAN that shortly after the university heard of the reported rape, it severed ties with G4S and contracted with a different company to handle campus security in its place.
That spokeswoman also said the security guard’s accuser is no longer a student at Huston-Tillotson.
The university would not comment any further on the case.
A spokesperson from G4S said the security company also would not comment on the case.
The lawsuit seeks more than $1 million in damages from Huston-Tillotson and G4S.
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