A male student who attends Brandeis University outside of Boston, Massachusetts was found guilty of sexual assault by university officials. Surely, the student should have gotten expelled and thrown in jail, right? No. The student didn’t get so much as community service. Instead, the student has to undergo sensitivity training.
This January, victim Joseph Babeu reported another student for a sexual assault which drew a list of charges that included sexual assault, physical harm, invasion of privacy, and sexual harassment. The six-month long investigation resulted in the accused being found guilty on all charges pressed against him.
After Babeu filed the assault charges, the accused filed a report against Babeu alleging “false claims,” retaliation, and invasion of privacy. The university found Babeu not responsible for the charges.
What’s even more outrageous is that the upon the initial report filed against Bebeu, the university Dean of Students Jamele Adams ordered Babeu to step down from a campus leadership position and restricted him from the school’s dining halls. Babeu protested and the school pulled back its crazy approach. However, Babeu asked what restrictions the school placed on his attacker, but the school wouldn’t tell him.
“Honestly, I thought it was a joke,” said Babeu. “I read the charges and almost nothing was happening — just a slap on the wrist.”
Brandeis kept most of the information about the case hidden from Babeu, but he was able to obtain a no-contact order against the attacker. That order was broken in February, but the university only issued a warning.
The light-handed treatment of this case by Brandeis University sends the wrong message and undermines the efforts of victims’ advocates across the nation. Doing so creates in the attackers a sense of invulnerability to justice.
“It gives him the idea he can violate these things and not get punished for it,” said Babeu.
