Richmond student publishes emails, condemns Title IX administrators

A University of Richmond student condemned many of the school's Title IX administrators Thursday on the Huffington Post contributor network, publishing emails and supposed transcripts from her sexual assault investigative hearing.

Cecilia Carreras, a Westhampton College student, provided exchanges with Maura Smith, Title IX coordinator and director of compliance, Dan Fabian, deputy Title IX coordinator and associate dean and Patrick Benner, associate dean of residence life, among other administrators. The piece also provides exchanges with Andy Gurka — a Title IX investigator — and the accused student.

In the piece, Carreras asserts that while sitting in Fabian's office, he told her, "I thought it was reasonable for [the accused] to penetrate you for a few more minutes if he was going to finish."

Carreras also wrote that Fabian told her before closing her initial investigation that the athletic department was "breathing down their neck to wrap up the sexual assault case." Carreras had no evidence to support this claim.

Fabian, who is out of the office until Sept. 14, did not respond to requests for comment.

The piece also showed an email to Fabian and Kerry Fankhauser, the then-interim dean of Westhampton College and a current deputy Title IX coordinator, dated Dec. 15, 2015, in which Carreras wrote that Smith had told her to "feel lucky" she had seen the accused only a few times since the incident.

Smith told The Collegian, "We're trying to work through this," but otherwise deferred comment to University Communications.

Cynthia Price, a university spokeswoman, said the school could not discuss specifics. 

Carreras went on to provide an email from Smith detailing a "no contact" order between her and the accused. According to the report, the accused sent her two text messages shortly after the order was instituted saying, "Wow," and "You're unbelievable." No date was provided for the text messages.

Throughout the piece, Carreras provides emails from Smith and Benner discussing many of the nine no-contact violations that Carreras said had occurred.

Benner's office also deferred comment to University Communications.

Carreras also included an email from Joe Boehman, dean of Richmond College, dated July 1, 2016, explaining that the accused student-athlete was being placed on restricted access, meaning he could only visit certain areas of campus. Until Dec. 13, 2016, he is restricted from the Heilman Dining Center, Tyler Haynes Commons and most other areas on campus unless he receives permission 48 hours in advance, the email read. 

Carreras omitted most names from all of the provided exchanges to avoid the possibility of FERPA violations. 

Carreras originally published an account of how the administration mishandled her sexual assault investigation on Tuesday. The university responded on Wednesday with a mass email to students, calling her assertions "inaccurate." 

The university is under federal Title IX investigation by the Department of Education. Carreras has filed a complaint of her own with the DOE and is waiting to hear whether it will be investigated.

Continue to follow The Collegian for updates on this story.

Contact editor-in-chief Charlie Broaddus at charlie.broaddus@richmond.edu and managing editor Lindsay Schneider at lindsay.schneider@richmond.edu

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