Citing tardy filing, US often rejects allegations of mishandling sexual violence complaints
Over the past decade, federal investigators have dropped nearly three-quarters of the allegations against colleges accused of mishandling complaints of sexual violence on their campuses, often because the complaints are filed too long after the incident.
The figures shed light on the outcome of the allegations at a time of heightened awareness of campus sexual violence. The number of sexual violence-related investigations opened each year has increased steadily over the past decade, from a single case in 2004 to 17 in 2012, 32 in 2013, and 102 last year.
Denise Horn, a spokeswoman for the Education Department, said officials are “working aggressively to ensure that all students have the opportunity to learn in a safe and healthy environment.”
“Let there be no mistake: Sexual violence has no place in society and especially no place in our nation’s schools or on our nation’s college campuses,” she said in an e-mail.