A former University of Cincinnati student was raped in 2023. On July 8, she is speaking out about her lawsuit against the school, claiming she was misled and placed in unsafe housing.
The woman is only being identified as Chloe by her lawyers and initials in the lawsuit. She says despite requesting several on-campus dorms she was placed at The Deacon, a building the suit says is “off-campus in a dangerous area rife with violent crime.”
She plans to speak to the press July 8 to “warn other students and their parents about the dangers of being assigned to dorms that are not owned by the University of Cincinnati but marketed as regular dorms on campus without their knowledge,” according to her lawyers.
In 2023, Chloe and her family sued both the university and the companies that own, operate and manage The Deacon. More than two and half years later, the case against the University of Cincinnati is scheduled to go to trial in the Ohio Court of Claims in November. The case against The Deacon in Hamilton County Common Pleas Court was dismissed by the plaintiffs due to time constraints and was refiled last month.
Chloe said she was 17 when she started at UC and was required to live in university housing, according to the lawsuit. She said she requested several dorms, but was placed in a room off-campus at The Deacon.
The lawsuit states UC knew there was not enough housing on campus for all of the incoming freshmen and university officials “knew the areas around UC’s campus are violent and dangerous.”
There were seven reports of sex crimes at The Deacon between 2019 and August 2023, the lawsuit states, and the building has “known security deficiencies,” like people using trash cans to keep the doors propped open.
On Aug. 24, Kadarius Short entered The Deacon and went to Chloe’s room, according to court documents. Posing as a resident assistant, he got inside Chloe’s room, strangled her with a phone cord and raped her. Police said he then forced her to go to an ATM and withdraw money, which he took.
Short was later convicted of rape and robbery and sentenced to eight to 12 years in prison. Chloe left UC after the rape.
The lawsuit argues that UC had an obligation to warn Chloe and other students about the dangers in the areas near campus.
“UC failed to provide security patrols, controlled access, security cameras and other safety measures at The Deacon that could have prevented this tragedy,” the lawsuit states.
According to the lawsuit, a staff member at The Deacon encountered Short in the building without permission in January 2023. He was ejected, but the staff members did nothing “to ensure his unauthorized re-entry to the Deacon would not occur again,” the suit says.
The Enquirer is attempting to reach representatives from UC and the companies associated with The Deacon. This story will be updated with their responses.
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Rape survivor says UC failed to warn of dangers of off-campus housing
Reporting by Cameron Knight, Cincinnati Enquirer / Cincinnati Enquirer
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Cameron Knight, Cincinnati Enquirer | USA TODAY Network
