Baylor settles lawsuit with woman who alleged sexual assault
AUSTIN, Texas — Baylor University has agreed to settle a federal lawsuit with a former student who accused the nation’s largest Baptist school of fostering a “hunting ground for sexual predators” and mishandling her alleged attack in 2015.
A settlement notice was filed in federal court in Waco, Texas on Thursday. No details were released, but the agreement marks Baylor’s first settlement to resolve a cascade of lawsuits over the past 18 months by women who said they were attacked and had their cases ignored or bungled by the university for years.
Baylor has settled with at least three other women who were attacked but did not file lawsuits, and still faces five federal Title IX discrimination lawsuits from more than a dozen women. The school also faces state criminal and federal civil rights investigations, and an NCAA probe into the athletic program.
The scandal, and the school’s own investigation into how Baylor responded to assault allegations, led to the firing of former football coach Art Briles and the demotion and eventual departure of former school President Ken Starr in 2016. New President Linda Livingstone took over June 1.