Notre Dame student sues school, claims academic tutor pressured him to have sex with her daughter
The student, referred to as John Doe in the lawsuit, alleges the tutor, referred to Jane Roe, forced him into a sexual relationship with her daughter and set up the sexual encounters between the two, as The South Bend Tribune reported.
Doe is an African-American male at Notre Dame on an academic scholarship. During his freshman year he started to receive academic help from a university-provided tutor.
But their interactions soon crossed the line from an academic relationship, the suit alleges. And Doe says he suffered academically and emotionally due to the actions of Roe.
The lawsuit claims the tutor commanded Doe to engage in sexual relations with her own daughter, and provided transportation, hotel rooms, and condoms for their sexual encounters. Further, the lawsuit claims she then interrogated him about the frequency and quality of the encounters.
The suit also says the tutor created a sexually and racially hostile educational environment which included "harassing and demeaning Plaintiff John Doe with racially-charged comments about his sexual prowess and genitalia."
The suit also alleges that Doe is not alone in his abuse at the hands of the tutor.
"Defendant Jane Roe has used her position and employment at the University of Notre Dame du Lac to engage in routine and targeted sexual activities against other similarly situated young, African-American, male students, including several academically coached members of the University's football and basketball teams," the lawsuit states.
Following an internal review by Notre Dame into the interaction between Jane Roe, Roe's daughter, and John Doe, the university fired Roe, Paul Browne, vice president of public affairs at Notre Dame, told Business Insider.
"Following a multimillion-dollar demand for money, plaintiff's counsel made unsupported allegations that Notre Dame failed to act, when in fact the university acted immediately when it learned of a problem," Browne wrote.
Business Insider reached out a lawyer representing John Doe and will update this post when we hear back.