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UCSC Student Sexually Assaulted by Professor with History of Sexual Harassment
The University of California Regents have settled a civil case filed on behalf of a former UC Santa Cruz student for $1.15 million, in regards to the school's failure to address sexual harassment and sexual violence involving former faculty member Hector Perla. Perla resigned from UCSC in June 2016 following an investigation into his conduct. Photo: Hector Perla
The legal claim stated Latin American studies professor Perla took the student and another student who was also employed by the university, to a wine tasting at Loma Prieta Winery on June 13, 2015 to celebrate the student's graduation from UC Santa Cruz.
Perla encouraged the student to consume large quantities of wine, causing her to become severely intoxicated and lose her memory, according to the legal complaint. After leaving the winery they went to the student-employee’s home. They then, “engaged in non-consensual sex acts", with the student, who was, "severely intoxicated to the point she was not fully conscious”, said the complaint.
According to an interview with BuzzFeed News, she woke up the next day naked and knowing she had been raped. She said Perla MC’d her graduation ceremony the next day, which she was not able to attend due to her hospitalization from the attack.
The law firm of Kristensen Weisberg, LLP posted the following press release about the settlement to their website on January 31, 2017:
UC Santa Cruz Settles Sexual Assault Case for $1.15 Million
UCSC Student Sexually Assaulted by Professor with History of Sexual Harassment
Los Angeles, CA - Kristensen Weisberg, LLP announced on behalf of their client, a former University of California at Santa Cruz (UCSC) student, that they have settled a case against University of California Regents for $1.15 million for its failure to address sexual harassment and sexual violence involving its faculty. It is believed to be the largest, or one of the largest, individual Title IX settlements in United States history, exceeding Florida State University's settlement related to the Jameis Winston rape allegations.
The claim centered on allegations that the student was sexually assaulted by one of her professors on June 13, 2015 and that UCSC knew for years that the Professor was a sexual predator. "It let the wolf roam," Kristensen Weisberg, LLP alleged. UCSC's failure to reign in the professor "only encouraged his ambitions. Like many other higher institutions, UCSC looked the other way when it became aware [the professor] was hunting undergraduates...The sexual assault and UCSC's response is illustrative of the criminal neglect by a feckless administration that cannot even follow its own rules, and once it is too late, it tries to bandage up its prior malfeasance."
"No amount of money will make her whole," John Kristensen continued. "No apology will come close to being considered sufficient. ... a promising future lawyer was scarred for life because UCSC failed to comply with its own regulations and other rules governing higher education entities. This case is emblematic of the crisis of sexual assault on female students at our nation's institutions of higher learning."
The claim was brought against the University of California because, as John Kristensen noted, "prior to the June 13, 2015 rape of Plaintiff, UCSC was aware that [the] Professor...was sexually harassing students in direct violation of its own Faculty Code. The University was deliberately indifferent to claims by students of sexual harassment by faculty. There was no investigation and no attempt to protect subsequent students, including Plaintiff, from [this professor]."
"Enough is enough," said Kristensen. "How many more students will it take for the Universities on this country to get the message that it must act to safeguard its students from predatory faculty? We hope this settlement sends a message to the UC system that it must take responsibility for its secrecy and its failure to protect its students."
http://www.kristensenlaw.com/blog/2017/01/kristensen-weisberg-obtain-115m-title-ix-settlement-from-uc-regents.shtml
Perla encouraged the student to consume large quantities of wine, causing her to become severely intoxicated and lose her memory, according to the legal complaint. After leaving the winery they went to the student-employee’s home. They then, “engaged in non-consensual sex acts", with the student, who was, "severely intoxicated to the point she was not fully conscious”, said the complaint.
According to an interview with BuzzFeed News, she woke up the next day naked and knowing she had been raped. She said Perla MC’d her graduation ceremony the next day, which she was not able to attend due to her hospitalization from the attack.
The law firm of Kristensen Weisberg, LLP posted the following press release about the settlement to their website on January 31, 2017:
UC Santa Cruz Settles Sexual Assault Case for $1.15 Million
UCSC Student Sexually Assaulted by Professor with History of Sexual Harassment
Los Angeles, CA - Kristensen Weisberg, LLP announced on behalf of their client, a former University of California at Santa Cruz (UCSC) student, that they have settled a case against University of California Regents for $1.15 million for its failure to address sexual harassment and sexual violence involving its faculty. It is believed to be the largest, or one of the largest, individual Title IX settlements in United States history, exceeding Florida State University's settlement related to the Jameis Winston rape allegations.
The claim centered on allegations that the student was sexually assaulted by one of her professors on June 13, 2015 and that UCSC knew for years that the Professor was a sexual predator. "It let the wolf roam," Kristensen Weisberg, LLP alleged. UCSC's failure to reign in the professor "only encouraged his ambitions. Like many other higher institutions, UCSC looked the other way when it became aware [the professor] was hunting undergraduates...The sexual assault and UCSC's response is illustrative of the criminal neglect by a feckless administration that cannot even follow its own rules, and once it is too late, it tries to bandage up its prior malfeasance."
"No amount of money will make her whole," John Kristensen continued. "No apology will come close to being considered sufficient. ... a promising future lawyer was scarred for life because UCSC failed to comply with its own regulations and other rules governing higher education entities. This case is emblematic of the crisis of sexual assault on female students at our nation's institutions of higher learning."
The claim was brought against the University of California because, as John Kristensen noted, "prior to the June 13, 2015 rape of Plaintiff, UCSC was aware that [the] Professor...was sexually harassing students in direct violation of its own Faculty Code. The University was deliberately indifferent to claims by students of sexual harassment by faculty. There was no investigation and no attempt to protect subsequent students, including Plaintiff, from [this professor]."
"Enough is enough," said Kristensen. "How many more students will it take for the Universities on this country to get the message that it must act to safeguard its students from predatory faculty? We hope this settlement sends a message to the UC system that it must take responsibility for its secrecy and its failure to protect its students."
http://www.kristensenlaw.com/blog/2017/01/kristensen-weisberg-obtain-115m-title-ix-settlement-from-uc-regents.shtml
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This is rape - "she knew she had been raped". Rape is a felony. It should not be called sexual assault.
I'm glad he's fired, but he should be in federal prison.
Men rape women every three minutes in this country.
No more excuses or apologies - rapists need to be locked up.
I'm glad he's fired, but he should be in federal prison.
Men rape women every three minutes in this country.
No more excuses or apologies - rapists need to be locked up.
“The penetration, no matter how slight, of the vagina or anus with any body part or object, or oral penetration by a sex organ of another person, without the consent of the victim.”
For the first time ever, the new definition includes any gender of victim and perpetrator, not just women being raped by men. It also recognizes that rape with an object can be as traumatic as penile/vaginal rape. This definition also includes instances in which the victim is unable to give consent because of temporary or permanent mental or physical incapacity. Furthermore, because many rapes are facilitated by drugs or alcohol, the new definition recognizes that a victim can be incapacitated and thus unable to consent because of ingestion of drugs or alcohol. Similarly, a victim may be legally incapable of consent because of age. The ability of the victim to give consent must be determined in accordance with individual state statutes. Physical resistance is not required on the part of the victim to demonstrate lack of consent. The UCR is the national “report card” on serious crime; what gets reported through the UCR is how we, collectively, view crime in this country. Police departments submit data on reported crimes and arrests to the UCR SRS. Even though most states have more expansive definitions of rape in their criminal codes, they had to report the smaller number of crimes falling under the more narrow UCR SRS definition. This meant that the statistics that were reported nationally were both inaccurate and undercounted. Because the new definition is more inclusive, reported crimes of rape are likely to increase. This does not mean that rape has increased, but simply that it is more accurately reported. In addition, the UCR program will also collect data based on the historical definition of rape, enabling law enforcement to track consistent trend data until the statistical differences between the old and new definitions are more fully understood. The new UCR SRS definition of rape does not change Federal or state criminal codes or impact charging and prosecution on the Federal, State or local level, it simply means that rape will be more accurately reported nationwide. The Office of Violence Against Women (OVW) worked closely with White House Advisor on Violence Against Women Lynn Rosenthal and the Office of the Vice President, as well as multiple DOJ divisions, to modernize the definition. The change was supported by external partners such as the National Sheriffs Association, National Association of Police Organizations, International Association of Chiefs of Police, Major City Chiefs, Major County Sheriffs, and the Police Executive Research Forum. For more information about the Office on Violence Against Women, visit ovw.usdoj.gov. We remind all those in need of assistance, or other concerned friends and individuals, to call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-SAFE or the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 1-800-656-HOPE.
For the first time ever, the new definition includes any gender of victim and perpetrator, not just women being raped by men. It also recognizes that rape with an object can be as traumatic as penile/vaginal rape. This definition also includes instances in which the victim is unable to give consent because of temporary or permanent mental or physical incapacity. Furthermore, because many rapes are facilitated by drugs or alcohol, the new definition recognizes that a victim can be incapacitated and thus unable to consent because of ingestion of drugs or alcohol. Similarly, a victim may be legally incapable of consent because of age. The ability of the victim to give consent must be determined in accordance with individual state statutes. Physical resistance is not required on the part of the victim to demonstrate lack of consent. The UCR is the national “report card” on serious crime; what gets reported through the UCR is how we, collectively, view crime in this country. Police departments submit data on reported crimes and arrests to the UCR SRS. Even though most states have more expansive definitions of rape in their criminal codes, they had to report the smaller number of crimes falling under the more narrow UCR SRS definition. This meant that the statistics that were reported nationally were both inaccurate and undercounted. Because the new definition is more inclusive, reported crimes of rape are likely to increase. This does not mean that rape has increased, but simply that it is more accurately reported. In addition, the UCR program will also collect data based on the historical definition of rape, enabling law enforcement to track consistent trend data until the statistical differences between the old and new definitions are more fully understood. The new UCR SRS definition of rape does not change Federal or state criminal codes or impact charging and prosecution on the Federal, State or local level, it simply means that rape will be more accurately reported nationwide. The Office of Violence Against Women (OVW) worked closely with White House Advisor on Violence Against Women Lynn Rosenthal and the Office of the Vice President, as well as multiple DOJ divisions, to modernize the definition. The change was supported by external partners such as the National Sheriffs Association, National Association of Police Organizations, International Association of Chiefs of Police, Major City Chiefs, Major County Sheriffs, and the Police Executive Research Forum. For more information about the Office on Violence Against Women, visit ovw.usdoj.gov. We remind all those in need of assistance, or other concerned friends and individuals, to call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-SAFE or the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 1-800-656-HOPE.
For more information:
https://www.justice.gov/opa/blog/updated-d...
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