Swarthmore College Faces Federal Complaint Alleging Underreported Sexual Misconduct

A group of students filed a federal complaint Thursday against Swarthmore College in Pennsylvania that claims the private liberal arts school is underreporting sexual violence on campus and discourages victims from reporting.

The complaint with the U.S. Department of Education alleges Swarthmore has routinely violated the Clery Act, a federal statute that requires higher education institutions to track and publicize campus crime, including potential security threats and sexual assaults. The students say administrators have intimidated and discriminated against students and staff who have been vocal about Clery Act violations, although specific examples are being kept confidential.

Swarthmore sophomore Mia Ferguson, a sexual assault survivor with the group, said the complaint includes testimonials from 12 students.

In a statement to The Huffington Post, Swarthmore president Rebecca Chopp said the school hasn't received the complaint but will "fully cooperate" with the Education Department, should it decide to pursue an investigation.

"Swarthmore takes extremely seriously all allegations of sexual assault and other forms of sexual misconduct, encourages reporting of these incidents, and investigates all such allegations," Chopp said. "We strive continually to improve our community and hold ourselves accountable for creating a culture that has zero tolerance for any form of sexual assault or abuse."

The complaint comes after Swarthmore announced it was launching an external review of its sexual assault policies.

In an email sent to students Monday, Chopp announced, "Based on the significant concerns that students have raised about sexual misconduct on our campus, and, in particular, about how sexual assault cases are handled, I have decided to seek an external review of all of our policies, procedures, and sanctions related to sexual misconduct." She went on to say, "This review will begin as soon as possible and will continue into the fall in order to ensure that students have every opportunity for input."

Ferguson said she's excited the college wants to reform its policies "in theory." However, Ferguson said, the testimonials in the complaint include stories of students who tried to report assaults and harassment but faced skepticism from school officials as to whether or not the incidents had actually occurred.

Ferguson said it took her months simply to get an anonymous log of her assault after she reported it to resident advisers and administrators, which she believes suggests that staff members who are supposed to report sexual assaults either didn't understand the Clery Act requirements or ignored them. Ferguson added that she feels the school's claim to be supportive of victims is inaccurate, but "desirous."

"I want the claim of support to be true not just on the face of things, but true behind closed doors, too," Ferguson said.

The college was also recently embroiled in a controversy over a campus referendum on whether or not fraternities and sororities should remain at the college. It escalated when students began chalking reasons to vote to remove Greeks that included accusations that fraternities harbored "serial rapists," according to Swarthmore sophomore Hope Brinn. The chalkings were later erased, but anonymous op-eds in the student newspaper, the Daily Gazette, also included claims that students had been raped by fraternity members.

Students voted down the referendum to remove Greek houses.

Last week, Chopp sent out an email to students in which she addressed the rape accusations against the fraternities, saying "sharp and targeted anonymous postings (of any kind, posted anywhere) are antithetical to building a community of trust."

Chopp's campuswide email, combined with the erasing of the chalking, was the last straw, according to Brinn, who said that certain students felt that the school was more concerned about the word "rape" than the act itself. Over the last week, a group of students worked to put together a Clery Act complaint with help from Annie Clark and Andrea Pino, who were among the group that filed a similar complaint against the University of North Carolina earlier this year.

"Ultimately, the goal is not to throw the college under the bus [and] not to destroy the reputation," Brinn said. "We, as students, love Swarthmore. That's why we're pushing for change, because everyone deserves to feel safe and validated."

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Tim Phares, Applebee's Employee, Allegedly Assaulted By Coworker's Husband Over Sexual Orientation

An Applebee's server in Rice Lake, Wisc., was allegedly beaten with a 2-by-4-inch piece of wood over questions regarding his sexual orientation.

He says he was then asked not to return to work because the incident had attracted too much negative publicity for the restaurant, though Applebee's denies this allegation.

Applebee's employee Tim Phares told the Wisconsin Gazette that he and his sister were at the parking lot of a different restaurant on March 17, when an SUV pulled in behind them carrying his coworker Shannon Hendricks and her husband, Rien.

“[Rien Hendricks] was getting out of his vehicle, and he said, ‘F*****g f****t, I’m going to kill you,’” Phares told the news outlet. Shortly thereafter, he was hit in the head and lost consciousness, he said.

Phares' sister, Krista, alerted the police and later identified Shannon and Rien Hendricks as suspects.

"I saw my brother laying in a pool of blood on the pavement and literally thought he was dead," Krista said in a Facebook post, according to a blog called Hispanic News Network.

Rien has since been charged with substantial battery with intend to cause bodily harm, a class 1 felony, according to court documents.

Several days earlier, Phares had a disagreement with a table of customers who used anti-gay slurs -- a confrontation that may have led to the attack in the parking lot of the other restaurant, a source told the Wisconsin Gazette. The incident caused Phares to voluntarily give his two weeks' notice, though he later changed his mind.

Ultimately, however, Phares said his manager at Applebee's asked him not to return after the incident. Dan Smith, a spokesman for Applebee's, disputed this accusation, telling The Huffington Post that the franchise group's CEO, Greg Flynn, contacted Phares and encouraged him to remain employed there.

Smith did confirm that Rien's wife, Shannon, continues to work at the restaurant alongside Phares, as she has not been charged with any crime and is not a suspect in the investigation.

This, however, was of no concern to angry customers who berated the Rice Lake Applebee's on Facebook. One user criticized the restaurant for still employing the woman allegedly involved in the parking lot incident, while another user, who claimed to be Phares' brother, defended the store, saying, "Applebee's in Rice Lake had nothing to do with this event. Our whole family enjoys this restaurant."

In an emailed statement to HuffPost, the Applebee's spokesman added:

This very unfortunate personal situation involving two of our franchisee's employees occurred during their free time and entirely away from the restaurant. The husband of one employee has been charged by police with felony assault. The police have informed us that this individual’s wife, who works at the restaurant, has not been charged and is not a subject in the investigation. The employee who was attacked is still employed with the franchisee. Although he had voluntarily resigned prior to the incident, the franchisee encouraged him to remain employed and he accepted that offer. Our franchisee continues to monitor the investigation and if there are any further developments related to any of its employees, it intends to evaluate the information and act accordingly.

Phares and the Hendrickses did not immediately respond to requests for comment from HuffPost.

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Michael Crabtree Sexual Assault: Charges Dropped Against San Francisco 49ers Wide Receiver

SAN FRANCISCO — Criminal charges won't be filed against 49ers wide receiver Michael Crabtree after an alleged sexual assault in a hotel after the team's playoff victory over the Green Bay Packers, San Francisco's district attorney said Friday.

After examining information submitted by police, District Attorney George Gascon said his office determined that no charges would be filed "at this time."

"The San Francisco Police Department - Special Victims Unit completed and submitted a thorough investigation of the allegations against Michael Crabtree," Gascon said.

Crabtree's attorney, Joshua Bentley, didn't immediately return a call seeking comment.

San Francisco police said Crabtree was never detained or arrested in the matter, and that he cooperated fully with their investigation.

The 49ers are preparing to meet the Baltimore Ravens in the Super Bowl on Feb. 3 in New Orleans.

49ers general manager Trent Baalke said the team was pleased that the district attorney decided to not file charges after reviewing the matter.

"Michael and the team can now put this behind us and move forward," Baalke said in a statement.

During the regular season, Crabtree became the first San Francisco wide receiver with more than 1,000 yards in a season since Terrell Owens in 2003.

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Air Force Sex Scandal Prompts House Committee Hearing On Sexual Assault In Military

By Jim Forsyth

SAN ANTONIO, Jan 23 (Reuters) - The U.S. House Armed Services Committee will hold a public hearing on Wednesday into sexual assault in the military, prompted by outrage over a sex-with-recruits scandal at Lackland Air Force Base in Texas.

The Washington hearing comes after nearly 60 current and former personnel, including two men, came forward with what the Air Force considered credible reports that they were sexually abused by their drill sergeants at the base in San Antonio.

Six drill sergeants have been convicted and six more Lackland Military Training Instructors are awaiting court martial in the case. The probe also recently expanded to a recruiting sergeant who was charged with sexually assaulting women who were discussing joining the Air Force.

More than 70 members of Congress signed a petition calling for an open hearing into the case and a similar public petition drew more than 10,000 signatures.

Air Force Chief of Staff General Mark Welsh and General Edward Rice, commander of the Air Education and Training Command are both expected to testify on Wednesday.

They are likely to address the completed Air Force internal investigation of Lackland, the Air Force's center for basic training, and the alleged incidents dating back to 2009. The Air Force has extended its inquiry back 10 years.

The House committee chairman, California Republican Howard "Buck" McKeon, told Reuters military commanders were expected to provide an environment of security and respect and "without question" had violated that trust.

"I expect them to tell this committee and the American people what went wrong and what they are doing to rebuild the good faith that the Lackland scandal has erased," he said.

Committee member Jackie Speier, a California Democrat, said the Air Force did not appear willing to get to the root of the problem.

"I intend to ask whether General (Margaret) Woodward, who conducted a formal review of the culture at Lackland without speaking to a single victim, amended her report and recommendations to include interviews with any of the young women who were raped, sexually assaulted, or sexually harassed by thirty military training instructors," Speier said.

Nancy Parrish, who leads an advocacy group for victims of sexual asault in the military called Protect Our Defenders, said there was an epidemic of sexual assault in the military and a culture that punishes the victim. She said it was time for President Barack Obama to act.

"We look to the Commander in Chief to make this a top priority in 2013," Parrish said, adding that she hoped the hearings would be a first step.

Paula Coughlin, a former Navy helicopter pilot who exposed the "Tailhook Scandal," in which female pilots were sexually assaulted and harassed during a Las Vegas convention in 1991, believes authority to investigate and prosecute sexual assault cases should be given to an independent civilian panel.

"It has to come out of the chain of command, because the chain of command has really become impotent," Coughlin said. "The chain of command is vested in protecting itself, and so often, the perpetrator of the assault is in the chain of command."

Retired Army Lieutenant Colonel Jeff Addicott, a long time Judge Advocate General for the Army Special Forces, argued that the Air Force investigation headed by General Woodward had led to realistic solutions.

The Air Force has increased the number of female Military Training Instructors in basic training, and now requires two squadrons of recruits be trained by four instructors, at least one of whom is a woman.

He said that in many cases the demands of Congress for quick and full integration of women into all military branches had led to the current problem.

"The problem lies not just with the military, but with the people who want to engage in social engineering to create this utopian idea of what men and women should or shouldn't do," he said.

Parrish said a 2010 Pentagon report estimated that there were 19,000 military rapes and sexual assaults each year, but only 3,200 victims reported attacks and only 191 cases resulted in court martial convictions.

"It is yet to be determined whether these hearings will be another footnote in this tragic American story, or whether Congress will take on its responsibility of oversight to fix this problem," Parrish said. (Editing by David Bailey and David Brunnstrom)

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