Category: Title IX

In Aug. 2017, a 45-year-old teacher, Aimee Palmitessa, was arrested and charged with 12 felonies related to having sex with a minor. She taught at Brentwood School in Los Angeles, California, a $44,000 per year private academy. She was known in the school to flirt with male students and make inappropriate jokes. The specific relationship she was arrested for started in 2016 with student John Doe. She first sexually assaulted him in 2017 when he was 17 and the relationship escalated from there. Other than being a minor, he was also unable to consent because the teacher-student relationship contains a power dynamic. When the school found out, she was placed on administrative leave, but the head of the school, Michael Riera, minimized allegations to parents at the school.

John Doe sued the school in Aug. 2018 in Los Angeles County Superior Court for failing to protect him by ignoring the warning signs of her behavior long before he was in her classroom. The 33-page lawsuit included the details of her grooming and assaulting Doe. But the lawsuit quickly went away from public eye from the loophole of forced arbitration.

On May 29, 2019, 37 former male athletes from Ohio State University filed a Title IX lawsuit against the school. They are alleging that university officials did not stop Dr. Richard Strauss from sexually abusing students during physical examinations and other medical treatments.

The lawsuit, which was filed in Columbus in the U.S. District Court, only names one plaintiff. The other 36 are listed as John Does. The named plaintiff is a former OSU wrestler, Mike DiSabato. While Strauss committed suicide in 2005, he was never prosecuted for the alleged crimes.

When a sexual assault occurs, the person who was assaulted may feel out of control of their own life. They may feel alone and completely unsure of their next move. Unfortunately, this often leads to many survivors suffering in silence and not getting the support they need. But it’s important to remember that there are people who are willing and ready to help them.

Why Is It Important to Reach Out?

While you do not have to speak about your trauma if you do not want to, there are certain ways that reaching out can help you with your recovery. Survivors will respond to what happened to them in different ways. Some people may struggle with depression or have flashbacks to what happened to them.

The University of Southern Indiana established a campus court system in light of the Title IX federal civil rights law, but the goal isn’t to punish criminal law violations. Instead, it’s an administrative process that deals with alleged violations of USI’s Civil Rights and Sexual Misconduct Policy. The harshest punishments are expulsion or termination, according to the Courier & Press.

When complaints are filed, they are kept confidential. The terms describing the procedures include evaluative panel, administrative resolution, and sanctions. If it is determined that student or employee has violated the university’s policy, the imposed sanctions will be added to their student or personnel file.

Sexual assaults are a horrific crime that a large amount of people have unfortunately experienced. About 23 million women and 1.7 million men have suffered from rape or attempted rape during their lifetime. This is an unacceptable and terrible thing. While we cannot undo what was done, the lawyers at Thomas Law Offices can offer legal options. You can make a stand with a sexual assault claim. We believe in advocating for survivors and making sure you get the justice you deserve.

With high numbers of sexual abuse, some may wonder why sexual violence can go unreported. But there are a few reasons that prevent survivors from raising their voices and accusing their abusers. It’s important to understand the precarious situation they are in and to think about what could be keeping them from speaking up.