Universities should ensure students have not been found guilty of sexual misconduct before they are accepted to study, a lawyer has said after The Times revealed that one of Britain’s leading universities for elite sports was at the centre of a sex abuse scandal.
Ann Olivarius made the comments in the light of a report that an athlete at Oxford Brookes University who was expelled after being accused of gang rape was under investigation in the US for a similar allegation.
Olivarius, who helped two women to sue Warwick University after they were threatened with rape on WhatsApp, said “choosing an education shouldn’t mean blindly entering a lottery on how your university will keep you safe”.
Oxford Brookes expelled three of the four accused students after an internal investigation found there had been a breach of university regulations. One had his punishment reduced to a term’s suspension on appeal and was ordered to write a letter of apology to the 19-year-old alleged victim.
The fourth was not found to have breached university regulations but was given a written warning.
Advertisement
The university inquiry followed an investigation by Thames Valley police, which resulted in no charges being brought. The university conclusions do not imply criminal conduct.
