An Oregon jury awarded nearly $4 million to a former Pacific University student who accused the institution of mishandling allegations of sexual assault against him, The Oregonian reported.
The university suspended Peter Steele, a doctoral student in psychology, in 2020 after a female student alleged that he physically and sexually assaulted her. Steele said their relationship was consensual.
Steele and his accuser settled competing claims against one another before his lawsuit against Pacific went to trial. He accused the university of failing to follow proper procedures in suspending and later expelling him over the allegations.
A jury found that Pacific had not acted fairly or reasonably toward Steele and had deliberately caused him emotional distress. On other counts, however, the university prevailed; the jury found that Pacific had neither violated Title IX nor breached its contract with Steele.
“At every step in this situation, we followed our policies and procedures, and we did not discriminate on any basis,” Pacific spokesperson Blake Timm told The Oregonian, noting that the university was considering an appeal.
KC Johnson, a professor of history at Brooklyn College who studies due process in campus sexual misconduct cases, told the news site the $4 million jury award is the largest he’s seen for a student accused of sexual assault.
“Both the size of the jury’s verdict and the fact that there was actually a trial was really, really unusual in this particular area of law and policy,” Johnson said.
Susan H. Greenberg
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