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Fifteenth Jane Doe joins lawsuit against Baylor University

A fifteenth person has joined those suing Baylor University for its widely reported mishandling of rape and sexual assault.

The newest plaintiff, identified only as Jane Doe 15, was a female student who enrolled in Baylor in August 2014. She, along with three other Jane Does, are part of one of the federal lawsuits brought against the University in U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas.

According to the lawsuit, she was sexually assaulted by another student in February 2016. She was taken to the hospital, where a rape examination was performed and Waco Police took a report.

Following her release from the hospital, she, a professor and her parents all reported the sexual assault to Baylor, which failed to take appropriate action, according to the lawsuit. Those contacted included Baylor Police, a Baylor Chaplain, the Title IX Office and even ousted former Baylor President Ken Starr, the lawsuit said.

At one point, she was referred to Associate Vice President for Student Life, Martha Lou Scott, to discuss class accommodations, according to court documents. But, Scott allegedly said there was nothing the Student Life office could do.

Jane Doe 15 lived in the same off campus housing complex as her alleged attacker. She sought relocation help from both the Title IX office and the Chaplain's office, but received none, the lawsuit alleged.

The lawsuit said she was told her attacker would be suspended -- and, if he came back on campus, he would be arrested. He came back anyway, the lawsuit alleged, but he was not arrested even though the University knew he had returned.

Jane Doe 15 claimed the Title IX office ultimately found her attacker responsible, but took no action to protect her from harassment she experienced from her fellow students after reporting the assault.

"The Title IX office also suggested to Jane Doe 15's mother that she should relocate to Waco to help her daughter get through the assault stating that is what other mothers did," the lawsuit said.

The lawsuit argued Baylor never referred Jane Doe 15 to the Advocacy Center, where she could have received free counseling. And, the campus counselor the University provided canceled appointments without rescheduling -- allowing Jane Doe 15 to go more than a month without a session, according to the lawsuit.

"In the Fall of 2016, Jane Doe 15's counselor left the school stating she could not do her best work for victims at Baylor," the lawsuit said.

All the Jane Does in the lawsuit allege that Baylor lied to them, misled them, failed to protect victims, and failed to investigate cases. The lawsuit argued the lack of attention to the issue was so bad that Baylor did not report a single case of sexual assault between 2008 and 2011.

Back in September, Baylor settled a federal lawsuit by a former student who claimed she was gang raped by a pair of football players.

At that time, Baylor released the below statement regarding the lawsuits against the University.

Baylor University has been focused on seeking the appropriate restorative remedies for survivors who have experienced past events of sexual violence within our campus community. While we can never erase the reprehensible acts of the past, we hope that today's agreement will allow Elizabeth Doe to move forward in a supportive manner.

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