A mother has filed a suit against William Paterson University in New Jersey, where her daughter committed suicide due to the university’s failure to act on her reported rape, the suit alleges.
Cherelle Jovanna Locklear, 21, was found by her roommates hanging by a necktie in a dorm bathroom on November 22, 2015. Locklear’s mother, Marquesa C. Jackson-Locklear, filed a suit last week naming the university, campus police, numerous school officials and the school’s chapter of the Sigma Pi fraternity.
Locklear’s mother said she was raped at William Paterson University Sigma Pi Fraternity house on or about Sept. 25, 2015. However, she didn’t report the assault immediately, Locklear’s mother said in court documents.
According to the suit, just a few weeks after the assault, Locklear tried to kill herself by overdosing on pills. The suicide attempt led to a five-day hospitalization.
After Locklear was released, her mother says she went to Theresa A. Bivaletz, coordinator of William Paterson’s Victim Services. According to the suit, Bivaletz did not report the rape to campus police until November 2015.
“Even after receiving the report of the sexual assault, the university police department utterly failed to perform an appropriate and thorough investigation,” the lawsuit states.
The lawsuit alleges that Bivaletz and campus police detectives Ellen DeSimone and Michael John Arp “and collectively failed to act as required by law to investigate the assault and protect Cherelle’s safety,” though they were aware of the sex assault and Locklear’s suicide attempt.
The suit goes on to state that the school “created a climate in which (sexual violence) against women was tolerated,” by failing to address other instances of sexual assault and sex-based violence against female students.
William Paterson University spokeswoman Mary Beth Zeman released a statement about the suit on Tuesday afternoon:
“We are, of course, saddened by the loss of a student under any circumstances, and particularly when the loss comes about by suicide. We are aware of the lawsuit filed by the student’s mother and are unable to comment on any such legal matters. The university will continue to focus on the safety and well-being of all of its members and offers a variety of counseling resources for students who seek help with personal challenges.”
No criminal charges have been filed in this case.
In another instance, five men were charged with kidnapping and sexually assaulting a female student on campus in November 2014. Four of the five sued the William Paterson University for failing to properly investigate the rape allegations, which led to financial and emotional distress. The school has since called for the suit to be dismissed, but it is still ongoing.
Locklear, sadly is perhaps one in a million of female college students whose sexual assaults go unaddressed by their universities. Earlier this year Spelman students started #RapedByMorehouse to bring to light sexual violence that they face from their “brothers” at Morehouse.
