Princeton Rape Victim Was Blamed During Hearing, Lawsuit Alleges

PRINCETON, NJ — A former Princeton University student has filed a lawsuit alleging that the institution failed to take “effective remedial action” after she was sexually assaulted years ago.

In the lawsuit filed on Monday in the Superior Court of Mercer County, the woman alleges she was subject to “highly improper questions,” and “victim-blaming” during the campus disciplinary hearing in 2011 for her alleged attacker. The hearing was also conducted amid an “enormous imbalance of power,” according to the civil complaint.

At the 2011 hearing, a Noble prize-nominated professor was brought in to defend the alleged attacker, asking the woman questions about her sexual history, past abuse, and whether she missed signs that the attacker was romantically interested in her, the woman said.

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“I don’t mean to get too personal … [tell us] how many boyfriends you’ve had before,” the professor allegedly asked the woman. He then went on to ask if she was abused or assaulted in the past.

“To my mind you knew some of the warning signs because you had direct experience. . . Not that you could predict this, but you knew about them,” the professor said, according to the lawsuit.

At another point during the hearing, the professor asked the woman why she baked brownies for the man if she didn't want him to think she was interested.

“I still don’t get it . . . I’m old-fashioned or something. I just don’t get it. Just take aside all the statistics of acquaintance rape and date rape and things like that, do you think it would be a cue to a guy that you actually like him?” the professor allegedly said.

Princeton University did not impose any disciplinary action against the male student as they “had determined that there was insufficient evidence to substantiate the allegations,” the woman said. The university also reportedly told the woman that “she had no right of appeal.”

The woman then left the university because she could not face the prospect of remaining in the “small department” where she would invariably be in the presence of her attacker.

In the lawsuit, the woman said that Princeton University “failed to put into place rules and regulations for conducting hearings that were free from discrimination and victim blaming.”

The sexual assault took place on Dec. 20, 2010, and the day after the woman sought medical assistance at the University Health Center as well as assistance from Defendant’s Sexual Harassment/Assault Advising, Resources and Education, according to the lawsuit.

However, the then-Interim Director of Defendant’s SHARE Center “wrongly informed” the woman that “rape kit evidence” would not be taken into account during the disciplinary process, the woman alleged.

According to the lawsuit, the university allowed the woman’s report of sexual assault to be handled by a panel that was “untrained and inexperienced” and contained several male faculty members.

When contacted, Princeton University said the matter was handled in accordance with procedures put in place during the time and since then, policies have been revised.

"As stated in the complaint, this matter was handled in accordance with the University disciplinary procedures in place at that time. Beyond that, we will need time to review and digest the allegations in the complaint, which do not identify the individuals involved and relate to conduct that allegedly occurred a decade ago," said Michael Hotchkiss, Deputy University Spokesperson.

"Since that time, the University’s policies and processes with respect to sexual misconduct have been revised, in accordance with federal regulations; information regarding current University policies and processes, as well as resources information, is available at sexualmisconduct.princeton.edu."

The lawsuit was filed as New Jersey dropped the statute of limitation, allowing alleged victims of past sexual assaults to file lawsuits against schools, colleges, churches, and other institutions. The two-year window closed on Nov. 30.

Between 2018 and 2020, Princeton University received 26 reports of rape and 27 reports of fondling, according to the 2021 school safety report.

The woman is suing for “emotional distress, psychological and emotional injuries/trauma, humiliation, and anguish,” according to the lawsuit.

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