In February of 2002, two female Ohio State students reported being raped in residence halls on opposite sides of campus. Both women were freshman. Both knew their assailant. But neither realized they were not their rapist's only victim.
Three-and-a-half-years after the attack, the second victim, Jane Doe, maintains a $6 million lawsuit against the university. Doe claims that OSU was negligent in failing to protect her from her attacker, former student Jeremy Goldstein. The university is liable for her suffering, Doe said, because the University's policies require subjects of such a serious complaint to be removed from campus.
Instead, after the first rape report, Goldstein was transferred to a different residence hall.
University officials are not discussing the case with news media while it is in litigation, said Ruth Gerstner a spokeswoman for the university. But the university has filed a motion to dismiss the case stating that "the victim is, in hindsight, simply unhappy with the consequences of her own decisions," such as her decision to delay filing a police report.
But Doe, whose name does not appear on legal documents, charges that her case was mishandled by the university at every juncture. Not only did the university fail to protect her from Goldstein, Doe said, it did not offer her the support that she needed to recover mentally from her attack, or to build her case against Goldstein.
"It has been over three years since I sought help from (the university) and I am still battling them now," Doe said. "Had the university followed its own policies and procedures I would not have endured the pain, anxiety and depression that I have."
Much has changed since Doe was a freshman who studied communication and pledged Kappa Kappa Gamma. Doe withdrew from classes at OSU three months after her attack, in May of 2002. At the time, she was suffering from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, she said.
In October of 2004, Jeremy Goldstein, pleaded guilty to a charge of criminal sexual imposition - a first-degree misdemeanor. The conviction was the result of a plea bargain.
Doe's attorney David Zeyen said Doe agreed that the prosecutor should reduce the charge from rape to sexual imposition.
"It was a date-rape situation and these cases are always difficult to prove," he said. "The circumstances of the case, including the delayed investigation, made the case more difficult from our standpoint."
In an statement agreed upon by both Doe and Goldstein about the facts of the criminal trial, Doe made it clear that she wanted Goldstein to stop and yet he continued forcing himself on her.
The parties also agreed that Goldstein should have known Doe wanted him to stop and that Doe experienced pain because of Goldstein's aggression. The two had been friends since high school and previously had consensual sex on one occasion, the facts of the case stated.
Goldstein was sentenced to two-years probation and is now attending New York University.
Doe attends Kent State University.
Her civil suit against OSU remains in its preliminary stages.
"(Goldstein and I) lived on South Campus where all dorms are within five minutes walking distance. As a result of the close living quarters, the remainder of my freshman year was spent constantly looking over my shoulder and hesitant to turn a corner," Doe said. "Simply walking out of my dorm was enough to make my heart pound rapidly."
It was not until two weeks after Doe's attack, when Jenny Kline, director of residence life, made the connection between the two rape reports. She scheduled a meeting with Goldstein on March 13, according to legal documents from OSU. While the meeting took place, several other students came to the office to file complaints against Goldstein, according to a motion filed by OSU.
Kline declined to be interviewed pending the results of the civil suit.
As a result of the meeting, Goldstein was expelled from the dorms, according to the university.
Despite Doe's fears, legal documents from the university said the meeting put an end to the trouble.
Goldstein moved to an apartment on 13th Ave and continued attending classes for nearly a year and a half.
During this period Doe asked OSU that Goldstein be expelled.
Doe said OSU did not inform her about the Student Judicial Affairs board - the board that had the power to and eventually did expel Goldstein.
When Doe learned of her option for a university hearing to expel Golstien, Doe said Pat Hall, former director of Judicial Affairs, and Kline, urged her not to pursue Goldstein's expulsion from the university until the criminal trial was underway.
"The only reason I contacted (Hall) was to seek justice and to remove the (Goldstein) from campus, Doe said. "Over and over again, he and others told me that it was in my best interest to wait until the criminal proceedings were over. When university authorities are repeatedly telling you what to do, you tend to believe that they know what they are talking about."
As a result of the advice she received, Goldstein remained on campus for a year and a half after her rape report, Doe said.
Before classes began in 2003, Doe met with Goldstein before the Student Judicial Affairs panel. As a result of the hearing, Goldstein was permanently expelled from the University. Although records are sealed the university noted that Doe said, "The hearing went better than I ever could have expected."
S. Daniel Carter, the vice president of the non-profit victim advocacy and educational organization, Security on Campus headquartered in Pennsylvania, said this type of delay in a case where a student is requesting action, is rare.
"It's not proper for a university to hold off for criminal proceedings," Carter said. A university hearing can be more meaningful to victims because they can actually remove the attacker from the victim's day-to-day life, Cater said.
Doe said she believes if she had not fought for Goldstein's expulsion, he would still be roaming around campus.
During the period between Doe's attack and Goldstein's expulsion four other female students reported being verbally and physically harassed by him, according to a report by University Police.
But according to legal documents from OSU, "The University is entitled to discretion in balancing the interests of the complainant, the due process rights of the accused and its mission to educate students."
"(The) delay in removing her assailant from campus - is entirely the consequence of decisions she made to consider her options, to delay filing a police report and to delay the Student Judicial Affairs hearing while she pursued recourse in criminal courts," according to a legal document filed by the University.
A police officer was called to the scene when Doe filed her original rape report on Feb. 22. Doe said that she did not understand why it was important to fill out a report and she was afraid she would have to see Goldstein in court if she did.
Doe said she would have filed a report if the university had explained the importance of filing a police report.
On June 22 Doe filed a report with the University Police; the investigation of Goldstein began, four months after her attack.
Zeyen said the delay in beginning the police investigation made it difficult to bring a rape charge against Goldstein in court.
Doe also said she was not informed after filing her rape report of the university's counseling and advocacy program for rape victims. She said she wishes some one at the university had suggested she be examined at the hospital.
The university said that Doe was free to contact Stevenson at any point for further information. OSU officials did not pressure her to file a report or follow up with her out of respect for her decisions and privacy, OSU said in its motion to dismiss the case.
But Doe said she feels she was dismissed by the university rather than respected.
"Leaving the victim totally clueless and uninformed is not empowering them," Doe said.
Since 2003 Doe has been working with Carter to change the university's policies on sexual assault, Carter said.
"I was victimized once by the rapist, and again by the university's inaction," Doe said. "Throughout all of this I have realized that it takes a lot of pain to make change. I believe it is my obligation to stand up against the injustice and fight for the victims that have been ignored, neglected or silenced by OSU administrators."
Doe has also submitted up to 60 pages of recommendations to the university in the handling of rape cases, Carter said.
Gerstner said the university has not changed any of its policies because of the Doe case.
Carter said that Doe first came to him seeking help drawing up recommendations for the university. If OSU had been more receptive, Carter said, he does not believe Doe would have filed suit against them.
Doe said the civil suit will continue in October. The trial has been delayed by requests for a dismissal, extensions and a venue change. OSU's motion to dismiss the case is pending, Doe said.
"Instead of admitting wrongdoing, the university is doing everything that they can to protect their image by attempting to undermine mine," Doe said.
OSU's student organization Women and Allies Rising in Resistance have been one of Doe's biggest advocates on campus. This June the group sent university president Karen Holbrook 500 letters requesting the university admit failing to respond appropriately to the case, according to the group's president Jennifer Yoder, a women's studies major at OSU.
In response to the letters Yoder received an e-mail from Holbrook, which appeared to have been written by lawyers, Yoder said.
Doe said she has no intention of settling out of court.
"The left hand needs to know what the right hand is doing," Doe said. "This has been one long never-ending nightmare for me, and I dream of the day that I wake up and justice is served."
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